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The hot summer sun burned everything in a golden haze. Even a baseball boy who lived and breathed the summer heat on the diamond, like Yuuri, had trouble staying upright. He slowed his pace, quickly trailing behind Wolfram as he started to tug at the collar of his uniform. Why did the Maou have to wear black?
“Don’t tell me you’re tired already.”
Wolfram halted, turning to glare at Yuuri. With his hands on his hips, he looked even brattier than usual. It was actually cute…
Ugh, the heat was frying Yuuri’s brain!
“It’s so hot!” Yuuri complained, “Why couldn’t we have ridden horses?”
“Walking is good exercise.”
“I exercise every day!” Yuuri protested. “I do all my baseball drills, stretches, and I run with Conrad every morning – while you’re still asleep I might add!”
Wolf just shrugged. “You didn’t run with Conrart today.”
“Yeah, that’s because it’s too hot!”
Yuuri didn’t even know why they were walking to the Tomb of the Great One in the first place. Wolf wasn’t even technically allowed to be inside, even if he was the former prince and currently – accidentally – Yuuri’s fiancé. To Yuuri, this walk was utterly pointless, which just made the heat all the more unbearable. Yuuri groaned again before even picking another foot up off the ground.
Wolfram sighed as if Yuuri was the spoiled, bratty prince and Wolf was the magnanimous one.
“If you really can’t walk any farther, I guess I’ll just have to carry you.”
“Like a piggyback ride? You really think you’re strong enough to carry me? We’re about the same size.”
Even though Yuuri had shot up a couple of centimeters in the past few months and he had thoroughly dedicated himself to building up his shoulders, it looked like Wolf had done the exact same. Yuuri really couldn’t tell who was taller.
“Of course I could carry you!” Wolfram raised his chin haughtily. “I could carry a wimp like you the whole way to the Tomb in my arms alone.”
Before Yuuri could remember he should dash out of the way, Wolfram had an arm around his waist and was going for his legs.
“I’ll walk! I’ll walk!” He squawked as he flailed his arms.
“Nonsense, I already told you I could carry you!”
“Hey! Hey!” Yuuri felt his feet leave the ground. “You’re enjoying this, aren’t you? You want to carry me!” He kicked his legs but met empty air.
Wolfram’s arms were deceptively strong. His hold was steady as he held Yuuri against his chest. Yuuri’s cheeks flushed – it must be getting even hotter! There was no way he was blushing over the flex of Wolf’s biceps that he could feel against his back and under his legs! Or the way his chest felt surprisingly solid where his cheek rested against it! There was just no way he was swooning over being princess-carried by a guy – even if it was someone as strikingly handsome as Wolfram, with his eyes sparkling like emeralds and his blonde hair catching the striking sun and turning to gold. Yuuri swallowed thickly, forgetting his train of thought when Wolfram’s eyes looked right into his. Just a few centimeters of distance and their mouths could be touching – but why the hell was he thinking about that?!?!
Wolf grinned smugly and Yuuri felt his heart stop.
“You should have more faith in your fiancé.”
If I were a girl, I would have totally just fallen in love with him…
Even through his rosy haze, Yuuri could tell Wolf was just brimming with pride over his own charming act of chivalry.
Sadly, it couldn’t last. Wolf took one step forward and crumbled to his knees over the suddenly doubled weight. The two young demons were now collapsed in a heap on the dirt road. Yuuri had landed right on his butt, a jolt of pain rushed right up his spine and even made his teeth tingle.
“Dammit.” Wolf muttered through grit teeth. He had landed roughly on his palms and knees. Yuuri grimaced; he was definitely going to be bruised. “Are you alright, Yuuri?”
“Um, I think so, but my ass might be sore for a few days. I hope that doesn’t give anyone the wrong impression.” Wolf just blinked at Yuuri’s lame joke. He changed the subject. “Are you okay?”
“I’ll be fine.” Wolf huffed. He gingerly shifted to his knees and then started to stand up again.
“You know, even if you couldn’t carry me, it was still pretty cool.”
“Don’t patronize me.”
He was like a little Pomeranian growling. Yuuri had to fight not to laugh. He lifted his hand, and Wolf grabbed it without hesitating, pulling Yuuri to his feet. He let out a gasp of pain when he straightened up. His tailbone ached.
“You are hurt.” Wolfram’s pretty face crinkled into a frown. He looked a lot like his eldest brother, this way. Even so, he was still cute. “Can you walk over to that tree?” He interrupted Yuuri’s musings.
“Oh, yeah, I think I can.”
Wolfram kept an arm around his back as Yuuri lightly hobbled over to the large tree standing by. What a kind old thing to stick around and lend its shade to passersby, even though it was the only tree in the area. Childishly, Yuuri hoped it wasn’t lonely. He slowly lowered himself to sit against its roots, wincing at the pain when he sat down.
“You should have Gisela examine you when we get back. Maybe I should call for her now?”
Yuuri looked up to the sky. There were no flybone tribe soaring around; no easy way to send a message.
“I should be fine.” Yuuri spoke. “Just let me rest for a little while and then we can head back to the castle. Oh, you didn’t have anything you needed to do at the Tomb of the Great One, right?” After all, Wolfram wasn’t even allowed inside.
Wolf shook his head, his hair tossing around his face. Even in the wilting heat, his hair still framed his head like a golden halo, and the shine of sweat only made him look more angelic, like he was sparkling with holy grace. Demonic grace? Was there such a thing? If Wolf didn’t talk, it was easy for Yuuri to forget he was a demon altogether. Though, perhaps that was the strategy for the demons all along…
Wolf interrupted Yuuri’s thoughts by plopping down beside him. He crosses his legs and opened up the small satchel he had been carrying. He pulled out a silver canteen and offered it to Yuuri. “Drink some water.” He commanded.
The water was warm, but still more than welcome. He handed the canteen back to Wolf and watched as he took a long gulp. For some reason, Yuuri fixated on the fact that his lips had been in the exact same place as Wolf’s were now. He must be concerned about germs. But he didn’t feel sick.
“I have something else you should try.” Wolf announced as he rummaged again in his satchel.
Yuuri recognized the glint in Wolf’s eyes. It was the same look he had whenever Yuuri asked to bathe together. He was up to something for sure. Yuuri’s guard was immediately up.
But what Wolfram pulled out was as unthreatening as could be imagined. It was an irregularly shaped fruit, one Yuuri hadn’t seen before. The shape was reminiscent of twin crescent moons stuck together at the curve. The fruit was a deep pink, nearly purple where the two halves met, altogether no larger than Wolfram’s palm. He handled it tenderly as he showed it to Yuuri.
“That’s a freaky looking fruit.”
“It’s called a kissing fruit.” Wolf answered cheerily.
“Why is it called that...?” Yuuri was afraid to ask.
“I’ll show you.” Wolf smiled smugly. “It has to do with the traditional way to eat it. The skin is very delicate, and if it rips all the juices will spill out all over the place. So, the only proper way to eat it is to share. Two people each place a half of the fruit in their mouth. They then gently part it together with their lips, and the fruit rips in their mouths. It’s quite delicious and very refreshing, so it’s perfect for today.” He said this with such authority Yuuri almost wanted to take him up on it, but he shook his head to clear away the haze.
“Can’t I just pop the whole thing in my mouth?”
Wolf’s excited expression twisted into irritation.
“You’re such a wimp! You call yourself the King, but you’ve never even played the same games as the demon youth!”
“I thought this was an old tradition?”
Wolf’s cheeks pinkened and his voice rose an octave. “It is!”
“Alright, alright.”
Yuuri kind of doubted sanctity of this method – it sounded like some kind of kissing game to him, but he placated Wolf anyway. It was way too hot to be arguing. A fresh piece of juicy fruit sounded delicious, though. Given the heat, could they even afford not to eat it? Dehydration was a serious threat! Every baseball boy knew that!
Yuuri decided that it had to be done. Besides, it wasn’t as though he was actually kissing another guy; it was a necessary sacrifice for survival.
Wolf sighed. He tilted his gaze away. Even though he was trying his hardest not to feel disappointed, Yuuri could still see that he was.
“You should eat it, since you’ve never tried one.” He offered up the kissing fruit.
Yuuri blinked in surprise, but he had already made up his mind. His face heated up even more.
“We can share it.” Yuuri said.
“Really?!”
Wolfram’s eyes opened wide, and lit up, shining like twin emeralds. He was too beautiful and too happy to be playing this game with Yuuri of all people. Yuuri had to turn his eyes away and stare at the ground.
“It’s only fair.” Yuuri’s voice trembled.
Yuuri’s heart started to beat harder, its rhythm echoed throughout his whole body. He had no reason to be this scared; it wasn’t a real kiss.
He noticed Wolfram’s hand was shaking slightly as he raised the fruit up close to their mouths.
A warm storm of fluttering erupted in his stomach. Yuuri desperately tried to ignore how good it felt.
They leaned in at the same time, each popping a half of the fruit passed their lips. It was a bit jarring, how their mouths bumped together, but Wolf’s lips were softer than Yuuri could believe. They clumsily moved their lips against each other as they worked to pull apart the fruit, but Yuuri could hardly focus on splitting the skin when Wolf’s lips kept pressing and brushing against his.
Finally, after a few seconds only, the fruit tore apart and Yuuri’s senses burst with the flavor; a wonderful tart sweetness just as soothing as water but irresistibly delicious. The taste had distracted him from Wolf’s pulling away. He opened his eyes to find the former prince with a deep blush across his cheeks and a hand covering his mouth.
“That was good.” Yuuri said after he swallowed.
Wolf nodded after doing the same. He cleared his throat and removed his hand. He seemed too shy to meet Yuuri’s eyes and Yuuri had to stop himself from reaching out to touch his cheek.
They stood up on shaky legs. Yuuri didn’t even think about the ache of his tailbone anymore. His head felt like a warm ball of cotton, nothing but fluff in his chest and limbs.
Wolf spoke with an unsteady voice. “They’re in season, now, so hopefully we’ll be able to have more, soon.”
Yuuri didn’t know why, but that made his heart start racing again.