Chapter Text
"A heat cycle?"
The voice that rang out came from a teenage boy sitting in the middle of an office. His uniquely black hair and eyes earned him the nickname of "double-black" and his appearance signified him as the ruling king of The Great Demon Kingdom. His name was Yuuri Shibuya, the half-human half-demon who'd taken on the role as king for a little over a year.
The question was directed towards his tutor and adviser, Gunther. He was a beautiful demon with long silver hair and thin-rimmed spectacles. He was a sincere—if overenthusiastic and off-kilter—instructor to the young king.
Situated in the same room were three other male demons; half-brothers. Lord Gwendal von Voltaire, who had a stern personality (that would fit right at home with the Love Theme from The Godfather) and an earnest love for all things cute. Sir Conrart Weller, a warm and mature half-human half-demon who had indirectly given Yuuri his name. And Wolfram von Bielefeld, a boy who had the youthful appearance of a beautiful angel and the personality of an angry devil. Due to a misunderstanding of customs, he had unwittingly become the fiancé of Yuuri during their first meeting.
Incidentally, it was of Wolfram to whom the conversation pertained.
"Y-You're saying that because next month Wolf will turn 1000 months old, he's going to have a heat cycle?"
"Yes, that is correct," Gunther said.
"What is that?"
"To put it simply it is a period of time that typically lasts about a week, when a demon will feel intense urges and desires to mate." Yuuri gaped. Wolfram stared daggers at Gunther, who pointedly ignored him and continued on. "Due to our long lifespans, demons have evolved to develop these cycles in order for procreation to continue taking place. The first cycle starts at the age of 1000 months, and the next won't be for a long time. Therefore, I think it would be unwise for Wolfram to continue staying in your room—"
Hands slammed down on the table. "I can control myself!" Wolfram yelled, red-faced from humiliation. He couldn't believe they were even having a conversation about this.
"We know that Wolfram," Conrart patiently told his younger brother. "But it might be better to fall on the side of caution."
Wolfram scowled. "It seems unnecessary. You agree with me, right Yuuri?" he paused, realizing that the king wasn't listening. Yuuri was staring off into space, clearly lost in thought.
"Does this mean..." Yuuri's voice wavered a little as he spoke. "Does this mean that I'm also going to have heat cycles in the future?"
Everyone in the room froze.
"Half-demons do experience the cycles," Gunther said carefully, glancing at Conrart. He was out of his element here.
"Because half-demons develop at a faster pace, the heat cycles begin at a different age. Since Your Majesty turned seventeen not that long ago..." Conrart took out a piece of paper and began writing down some calculations. Yuuri absently told Conrart to call him by his given name. "Yuuri, your heat cycle would start on the first week of next month."
The crease between Gwendal's brows furrowed deeply. "They would be experiencing their heat cycles at the same time?"
"Yes," Conrart said slowly as the realization hit them all. "I suppose that makes sense, given that Yuuri and Wolfram are in a similar place developmentally."
Yuuri's head began to spin.
"Ahahaha Wolfram's right, we can handle ourselves! I mean, it's not like we're suddenly going to lose all of our reasoning and sensibility! Really, why don't we all just act like nothing's going to be different, okay?" He wasn't quite sure where he was going with this, but Yuuri had a strong need to pretend like the impending heat cycles were Not Going To Happen. Nope, no siree.
"Glad we could get that figured out!" The king got up and ran out the door, escaping from both the room and the entire conversation.
Wolfram quickly excused himself and headed out as well, ignoring Gunther's warning cries about how single demons typically isolated themselves in their rooms during the full week of the cycle. He privately hoped that they could all forget this conversation ever happened.
That's why it took him by complete surprise when only a few hours later he found himself cornered by his mother and older brothers. Lady Celi smiled while handing him a massive book and told her Wolfie-dear to please go figure things out with His Majesty.
*****
Wolfram slammed the door open to the king's bedroom, completely exasperated. He wanted to scream. Of all the—he couldn't believe that his family was putting him up to this! Did they somehow forget that Yuuri was a huge wimp?
"Hmm? Hey Wolf, what's up?" Yuuri asked. He was sitting on the edge of the bed, drying his hair with a towel. The two of them normally took baths together, but they seemed to have just missed each other that evening.
Wolfram stared at Yuuri with a piercing gaze, causing the king to nervously fidget. He sighed, holding up the book in his hands.
"My family finds it concerning that our heat cycles are set to overlap with each other. They said that it would be best if we learned how to do things with each other, so that in case things do come to that then at least we'll know what we're doing. Therefore, they would like us to go through this book and experience the actions detailed in it."
Yuuri paled a little. "W-What kinds of actions..?"
"Actions of physical intimacy." Despite his seemingly composed demeanor Wolfram couldn't help but flush, causing Yuuri to heat up as well.
Wolfram cleared his throat.
"So, I've taken to reading this book and broke it down into four separate stages that we'll be progressing through over the next few weeks. I've summarized what we should do on here," he said, gesturing to a paper in his hands. He tried to ignore the look Yuuri was giving him. Fine, it was weird to research and take notes on it the way he did, but he preferred to do things the proper way.
"Since you're such a newbie wimp to this all, I've made sure the pacing will be nice and slow," he said, trying to take back some semblance of composure.
Yuuri looked annoyed. "Don't call me a wimp. And hey, if you're calling me a newbie then does that mean you've had some experience from before?" he asked curiously.
Wolfram looked a little flustered. He made his way over to the bed and sat down next to Yuuri, not looking him in the eye. Yuuri couldn't help but silently appreciate the way Wolfram's pink nightgown seemed to perfectly highlight his figure.
"I assure you that it will not impede with what we will be doing with each other. But no, I have not had any previous involvement in such situations," he said in a quiet voice.
Yuuri raised his eyebrows. "Really? None at all?" he asked, leaning closer to study Wolfram.
Wolfram felt his face grow bright red.
"My lack of experience does not bear any significance to this conversation."
Yuuri grinned. "You mean you've also never kissed anyone?"
"I haven't!" Wolfram yelled, mentally chastising himself. Gah! Why did I admit to it?
Yuuri cracked up. "You talk pretty big for someone on the same level as me," he said in between laughs.
Wolfram huffed. Secretly though, he was glad to hear that he wasn't any more inexperienced than the wimp. He wasn't sure he'd be able to handle it otherwise.
*****
"Okay, what are we supposed to start with?" Yuuri asked, finally calming down and resigning himself. He wasn't sure what was more embarrassing about the whole situation. The fact that he was expected to just start casually making out (and more) with one of his best friends or the fact that Wolfram's mom and older brothers knew the basic gist of what they would be doing with each other.
Wolfram looked down at the paper in his hands, keeping it angled away so that Yuuri couldn't catch a glimpse of what was written on it.
"The first stage starts out with kisses on the face. The cheeks and forehead for example." Wolfram spoke slowly, as if he half-expected Yuuri to start running away screaming.
Yuuri frowned. He felt a little patronized by the way Wolfram was talking to him. Although maybe it was his fault, considering the way he'd stammer and protest every time Wolfram had tried to flirt with him before.
"I think we can skip that. I mean, even I can handle that much," he said offhandedly.
Wolfram nodded. "Then all that's left in the first stage is an actual mouth-to-mouth kiss," he said.
Yuuri laughed awkwardly. Partly because of Wolfram's use of the phrase "mouth-to-mouth"—it sounded so clinical! Partly because he was trying to cover up the fact that his heart skipped a beat when he tried to imagine what it would be like.
Wolfram rolled his eyes. Setting the paper aside, he moved over to take Yuuri's face in his hands. Yuuri flinched a bit as he did.
"Just tell me if you want me to stop. Okay?" he said. Yuuri nodded, tightly squeezing his eyes shut.
Wolfram carefully moved his face closer. Their breaths felt hot against their faces, and Yuuri couldn't help but detect the sweet scent of wine. Wolfram must have had a glass before coming to bed.
Yuuri felt a thumb press him, lightly drawing along his bottom lip. His facial muscles eased up a little from the movement. Then he felt the thumb leave and Wolfram closed the distance between their faces.
Soft. That was the first word that entered Yuuri's mind as their lips met. Wolfram moved away and Yuuri found himself blinking in surprise. The kiss had lasted for only a second, maybe even less.
"Um, is that it?" he asked.
"Pretty much. Once we're comfortable with that we can move on to stage two. But," Wolfram looked puzzled. "Yuuri, you're taking this really well."
Yuuri swallowed. "I mean, we kinda have to do this, and we're both new at it, so it's like... it's like we're learning together. Or something," he said, cringing at his words.
Wolfram snorted. "Sure, just think of it as part of your education. Kissing practice," he teased.
Ahhh saying it like that made Yuuri want to bury his face in his hands. But if he did then he really would be a wimp. So instead he tried to run the words through his mind until they started to sound normal.
Kissing practice huh... it's not weird to do that with another guy, is it? Just two friends... two bros helping each other out...
Well since it would be with a guy, it probably wouldn't even feel good, Yuuri reasoned. Yeah, he should just think of it as a learning experience, like a classroom lecture or baseball practice.
Yeah, it was practice. Just practice. Nothing more.
Slowly, gently, Yuuri pressed his lips back against Wolfram's. He couldn't get over how unbelievably soft they felt against his. He could taste the slightest hint of lemon.
Drawing away, he found himself meeting Wolfram's gaze. Emerald green eyes were reflected onto onyx black ones.
The hand on Yuuri's face lightly caressed his cheek. He sighed contently, closing his eyes before moving forward to feel that sensation on his lips again.
The act of kissing wasn't made up of just one really long press of the lips Yuuri soon realized. Instead it was made up of many small overlapping ones. Each time they separated, one of them moved forward to give a kiss back.
It also wasn't nearly as nerve-wracking as Yuuri had thought it would be. Yes, his heart was beating a little faster. And yeah, his stomach felt like it had a few fireworks going off in it. But more than anything, his mind was filled with an overwhelming relaxation as he kissed Wolfram over and over. He felt light and at ease.
Is it because it's Wolf..? We're always by each other's side. We eat together, bathe together, and sleep together every day. I guess it's only natural that I'd feel so comfortable with him, even while... even while we're kissing.
All of his senses took on an acute awareness of everything. Of the darkness surrounding the two of them. The quiet sounds their lips made each time they parted. The ever so slight rustling of clothing. The wonderful smells of wine and shampoo. The gentleness of Wolfram's skin. The way Wolfram tasted against his mouth.
Yuuri wasn't quite sure how long the two of them spent like that—just pressing tender kisses against each other and taking in all of the brand new sensations and feelings that came with it. All he knew is that when they finally stopped, they were both very warm.
For a long moment neither of them knew what to say. It was Wolfram who finally spoke up.
"So, did you find that educational?" Wolfram smirked, but the facade of confidence was slightly ruined by his reddened cheeks and averted gaze.
"What!? Oh, yeah, it was very um... informative. A good learning experience!" he laughed nervously, still in a bit of a daze.
Wolfram slowly nodded. "That's good. Well, goodnight Yuuri," he said, abruptly turning away.
"Hey, Wolf?" Yuuri caught his arm and pulled him back, not sure what he was going to say. But it felt... strange for them to just immediately go to sleep like nothing happened.
Wolfram paused, before giving him a sweet smile. Yuuri couldn't help but marvel at the cuteness of his fiancé. Wolfram leaned forward, wrapping him into a soft hug. Yuuri was a little surprised by the uncharacteristic action, but he squeezed back and relaxed into him.
"Don't worry Yuuri, this doesn't change anything between us," he said. "Since we're practicing, these are all just actions. There doesn't have to be any feelings involved."
"Ah... yeah..."
Satisfied, Wolfram went back to lying down. It didn't take long for the sound of his unique snoring to hit Yuuri's ears.
Yuuri leaned back against the covers. He lifted his fingers, lightly brushing at the area where Wolfram's lips once were. He sighed.
Just practice huh?