02:
Conversation rose and ebbed over the smell of good food and wine. A quartet of
musicians played tunes, reminiscent of an era when jazz was king, on a small
stage amidst the backdrop of maroon velvet curtains and fake plants. Only a few
diners paid much attention to them and clapped politely whenever a song set was
finished. However, the majority were focused on their 20000yen a plate dinners,
their soft laughter and voices adding to the illusion of peace and serenity in
the grand room.
Wolfram von Bielefeld watched all of this from the comfort of a booth
specifically reserved for their party tonight. It was a private V.I.P area on
the second floor, where the rich and famous could dine without fear of being
recognized by their adoring fans or rabid paparazzi. So far, the evening had
gone without a hitch and there was no one lurking in the corners, ready to take
a snapshot of them at their most vulnerable. He sighed softly and picked up his
fork, only to fight back the urge to vomit as he stared at the beady black eyes
of the large lobster which had been set before him. They didn’t really expect
him to eat this, did they?!
“Do you like the food, Wolfram?” came the low question from the dark-haired man
sitting across from him.
The blond opened his mouth to lie, but decided it really wasn’t worth it. “I
can’t eat this,” he replied in a tone that would have been considered rude.
“That thing is staring at me…and besides, it doesn’t look like it’s been
cooked well enough.”
The maitre d’, who had been standing at attention by their table, ready for any
orders, flinched at the reprimand and winced inwardly. Displeasing his
customers, especially ones as important as these, could cost him his job.
“Then I will get you another one, sir,” he said quickly, as he leaned forward
to pick up the plate.
“I do not want lobster,” Wolfram corrected coldly. “Seafood makes me sick.”
The dark-haired man, otherwise known as Gwendal von Walde, exchanged an
exasperated look with the sheepish-looking man beside the blond.
“Then what would you like to eat, Wolfram?” he asked as patiently as he could.
“Anything but seafood.”
“But there are a lot of things on the menu besides seafood,” the brown-haired
man pointed out quietly.
“I know that, Conrad,” Wolfram replied with a scowl. “Just give me a few
minutes to make up my mind on what I want.”
“We could be here all night,” Gwendal muttered beneath his breath.
“I heard that,” the blond grumbled as he buried his face behind the large menu.
He waved a hand at the maitre d’ in dismissal. “I’ll let you know when I’m
ready.”
“Yes, sir. Very good, sir.” The poor maitre d’ seemed all too happy to be as
far away from the irritated customer as possible while Gwendal and Conrad
shared another look as if saying ‘What can we do about it?’
“Ah, Wolfram, Wolfram,” the red-head finally spoke up as she dabbed her lips
with a napkin. “You still haven’t changed after all this time, have you? Still
as bratty as ever.”
“What?!” Wolfram threw down his menu with a thunderous frown on his handsome visage.
“What do you mean by…?”
“Calm down, Wolfram,” Conrad said quickly, placing a hand on the younger man’s
wrist to hold him in place. “Anissina was just kidding…”
“Kidding? No, I’m not kidding,” she replied with a smirk. She leaned over the
table, her low-cut red evening gown dipping a bit more to reveal her ample
bosom to their gaze (not that she cared if they saw it or not) and tapped
Wolfram’s nose gently. “You are still a spoiled little brat who thinks he can
get away with everything just because your big brothers here are too
kind-hearted to give you a good spanking.”
Conrad watched with faint alarm as Wolfram’s features seemed to become redder
and redder with each passing second. The boy was bound to explode if the
situation wasn’t brought under control soon.
He looked to his older brother for support. “Gwendal…”
Why me? Gwendal closed his eyes and sighed before opening them again to
pin cool blue eyes on the blond, who by this time, was doing a rather good
impression of a steam engine. “Calm down, Wolfram or I will deny you the right
to play for the minor leagues.”
There was an audible gasp in the room and Wolfram felt the air rush out of his
lungs as he fell back to his chair with a heavy thud. He stared at his brother
with slightly pained green eyes, his mouth opening and shutting for a few
seconds as if thinking of the right way to phrase the dismay he felt.
“You…you wouldn’t,” he finally gasped weakly but Gwendal’s stern frown did not
waver.
“Yes, I would,” he replied coolly. “I will not tolerate your bratty behavior in
this city…”
“I didn’t even want to come to this stupid city! I wanted to stay with mother
back home, remember?” Wolfram replied tightly. Unshed tears shimmered in his
eyes as his fingers clutched the edge of the table. “It will be a good change
for us,” he continued, trying to mock Gwendal’s baritone. “It’s what you need.
You need to get out a bit more and explore the world. Bullshit!”
“Wolfram!” Conrad reprimanded with a light frown. “You know you owe Gwendal
everything…”
“Yes! Yes! I know it!” the blond cried out. “If it wasn’t for Gwendal I
wouldn’t be here, right? I wouldn’t be a baseball player, right? It’s all
because of him! And everyone thinks that too!”
“What are you talking about?” Gwendal asked with barely concealed impatience.
There was no need pretending to eat any more. Food had lost its interest.
“You know what I mean,” Wolfram replied. “Everyone believes that it’s because
of your influence that I was able to make it to any team to begin with…”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Wolfram,” Conrad said with a shake of his head. “You are
a fantastic player and everyone can see that…”
“So why wouldn’t he let me go through the process like every other kid in
school?!” the blond asked. “Every time I go for a new tryout season, the
coaches say ‘I already have the position’…”
“Because they know you are good…”
“Because of Gwendal! Isn’t that true, big brother?!”
All eyes were now trained on the silent dark-haired man, who was still engaged
in a battle of wills with his red-faced brother. Finally, he tore his gaze away
from the unflinching green ones and reached for his glass of wine. He took a
sip, relishing the taste of the fiery liquid on his tongue before it coursed
its way down his throat.
“It is true,” he finally replied, ignoring the look of disbelief on Conrad’s
features. “I did not see it necessary for Wolfram to go through all of that. I
felt he was good enough to join without the preliminaries.”
Wolfram opened his mouth to speak but Gwendal stopped him by raising his hand.
“However, since you’re so determined to prove your worth, I’ll grant you your
wish.”
Both Wolfram and Conrad could only stare at the older man in growing confusion.
“What do you mean…?”
“I mean, my dear impatient little brother,” Gwendal replied with a lazy drawl,
although his gaze was now hard and rather cold. “You are just going to have to
earn your way to the top like everyone else. You see, in high school it’s quite
different from the Minor Leagues. In the Minor leagues, you’ve got college kids
who wish to make it to the Big Leagues as well as former Big Leaguers who wish
to return to their glory on the national stage. The competition is going to be
much tougher and you are going to have to go up against them and prove your
worth to me. I promise not to interfere and you will show me why I ought to
give you a shot on my national team. Understood?”
“Gwendal,” Conrad began slowly, feeling the thick tension in the air and not
liking what he was seeing at all. “Isn’t that a bit too harsh…?”
“I’ll do it,” Wolfram interrupted with cold certainty and determination in his
tone. His gaze did not waver from Gwendal’s. “I’ll prove that I can be the best
baseball player in the country without your help, big brother.”
“Good,” Gwendal replied with a semblance of a smile on his lips as he picked up
his fork to resume eating. “I shall eagerly await the results. Now order
something quickly before my money goes to waste.”
Yuuri picked at the curried rice on his plate. First he created a small circle with
the white grains and then began to divide it into peaks and valleys, watching
as the sauce ran between the spaces he created like miniature brown rivers. He
could hear his mother washing the dishes as she hummed a familiar children’s
television show theme song. At several intervals, she would blurt out the
lyrics and at the parts she wasn’t sure of, she’d return to humming.
They were the only two people in the house since his father and older brother
had traveled out of town for a one-month seminar. Yuuri found that he didn’t
really mind being alone with his mother; however, it was aggravating to know
that she doted all her attention on him now. She wasn’t a bad mother by any
means, but Yuuri was sometimes sure that Jennifer was only a teenager stuck in
a woman’s body. She acted like a giddy school girl for the most mundane of
things and left to her, his cheeks would be pinched and kissed at any
opportunity she got. There were also the embarrassing memories of his early
childhood and how Jennifer had dressed him in only girly outfits. Perhaps she
had seriously assumed that dressing him in frilly dresses and cute ponytails
would change the obstructive ‘thing’ growing between his legs.
Geez, a guy can be traumatized with all I’ve been through, he thought
just as Jennifer belted out another line of the song in her rather surprisingly
good soprano.
“…and we run in circles until we fall doooooown!”
His fork clattered to the plate and Jennifer spun around at the sound. “Is
everything all right, Yuu-chan? You’ve been pretty quiet all evening.”
He managed a small smile. “Just tired, mom. I did play a game today…”
“And a fine game it was too!” Jennifer agreed with a firm nod which caused her
long brown hair to fall into her eyes. “You had two homeruns, right?”
Yuuri winced. He had only gotten on base once and that was with a single to the
outfield. But there was no point breaking his mother’s delusion. She could care
less about the game anyway. He knew she only came to support him because it was
the ‘motherly’ thing to do.
“…and when you hit that ball so high that no one could reach it,” She clapped
her hands and sighed in a dreamy fashion. “I was so proud of you.”
Yuuri bit his lower lip hard to stop himself from screaming. It wasn’t me,
mom! It wasn’t me! It was that blond, pretty boy with an attitude problem! I
can’t stand rich, snobby brats like him!
/Wimp…wimp…wimp…!/
“Grr and I’m not a wimp either!” He slammed his fists on the table, unaware of
the dark look in his eyes or the twin spots of color on his cheeks. Jennifer
noticed and sucked in a harsh breath. For a moment, it looked like someone else
was sitting at the dining table. Her precious Yuu-chan was no longer there and
this cold stranger had taken his place. But the moment passed quickly and as
she blinked, she saw it was only her son again – a little worn out and
obviously distressed about something.
“Of course you’re not a wimp,” she finally replied with a warm smile. She wiped
her hands on a dish towel and reached out to hold his hands, wincing inwardly
at how cold they felt. “You’re my Yuu-chan and you’re a good basketball
player.”
“Baseball, mom. Baseball.”
“Yes, that too. Now, are you going to finish your food?”
Yuuri stared at his ruined meal and shook his head slowly. “Sorry mom. I’m not
as hungry as I thought I was. I think I’ll just take a bath and call it a
night.”
She tried to hide her disappointment. She had thought the curried rice would be
a good change of pace tonight. “It’s okay,” she said with a wide smile. “I will
just keep it in the fridge so whenever you’re hungry you can eat it, okay?”
He stared at her pretty features for a moment longer and felt a pang of guilt
for some reason. She was really trying despite all her sometimes crazy antics.
She was doing her best for him and even he could appreciate that.
“Thanks mom,” he whispered softly, leaning close to place a soft kiss on her
cheek. The action surprised them both, Jennifer especially, for she never
thought she’d live to see the day her son would show such affection for her.
Tears of joy welled in her eyes.
“Yuu-chan…”
“Goodnight, mom!” he said quickly, his cheeks flaming with embarrassment at
what he had done. The last thing he wanted was to be crushed in her embrace and
with a quick wave, he made his escape although he managed to catch the low
sound of her sobs of happiness.
Ah man, what a day.
With a heavy sigh, he made his way to the bathroom and shut the door behind
him. He filled the tub with warm water and slowly began to peel out of his
uniform. Once completely naked, he stared morosely at the floor, his hands
opening and clenching as if reaching for a baseball bat.
His stance was like…this…
He spread his legs apart a little and tried to mimic the way the blond had
stood at the plate.
And then…he stepped in…held the bat like this…
He raised his arms, no longer in the bathroom but in a baseball field with the
entire field before him. He tried to envision what Wolfram must have seen. Space.
Nothing but space with no infielders or outfielders to prevent him for whacking
that ball to God knows where.
“And he swung…like this…”
He let his arms go in a similar motion, trying to recapture the graceful swing
the blond had displayed. Yes, that was it. Wolfram’s swing had been powerful
and yet effortless. Yuuri felt a now familiar low coil of heat within the pit
of his stomach as his mind envisioned how Wolfram’s body had moved, especially
those slender hips in tandem with the swing. It was simply a textbook motion
with no flaws anywhere.
Perfect. He’s just…eh? What the…?
He blinked at the sight below him, wondered why he should be experiencing this
and promptly slapped his hands over it as his entire body flooded with heat. He
shuffled to the stool and sat down quickly, too embarrassed to think that he
had actually gotten an erection thinking about…
The swing! That’s all! I was just thinking about his swing…it was just
exciting that’s all.
Yes, that had to be it. He did have the tendency to get excited for anything
baseball-related and this was no exception. He nodded firmly at the thought and
satisfied at his reasons for feeling that flustered; Yuuri reached for the
shampoo and began to scrub his hair with a vengeance.
The ride back to the house was a silent one and even when they arrived, Wolfram
made no attempt to initiate conversation as he led the way in and all but
slammed the door to his bedroom shut in obvious dismissal.
Conrad Weller sighed softly and closed the front door behind him. He walked
towards his younger brother’s door and leaned closer to listen. There was no
sound from the room but it still didn’t stop Conrad from feeling worried. If
Wolfram ever cried, he had never known about it, for his brother was full of
pride and would never subject himself to anything so pathetic (in his words).
He leaned against the door with his dinner jacket draped over his arms.
“You don’t have to hold it all inside, Wolfram,” he finally said as he listened
to the ticking of the grandfather clock in the living room fill the silence.
“If you’re upset…”
“I’m not upset,” came the muffled reply, as if Wolfram had a pillow over his
head. “I’m just tired. I did play a game today, you know.”
Conrad fought the urge to remind Wolfram that he had only played one inning,
but decided not to incur the blond’s wrath. After dinner, Conrad had pulled
Gwendal aside in an effort to talk him out of his decision, but his older
brother had refused, insisting that Wolfram would have to learn that not
everything in life was free. Besides, the blond had wanted this, so it was a
good opportunity for him to experience the hardships of becoming a professional
player.
So yes, it all sounded good on paper, but Conrad still had his doubts. He had
been a minor league player himself with hopes for the Big Leagues, but his
dreams had been cut short due to an arm injury that required intense surgery.
He would never be able to throw or hit as well as he had in the past.
Unconsciously, his right hand clutched his upper left arm tightly, his features
furrowed in thought as the memory of the bitterness and pain he had felt, came
rushing back to him. His career as a baseball player was over, but his love for
the sport wasn’t. He had spent his time teaching Wolfram all he knew and was
quite proud to find that his brother was a genius at grasping the concepts
quickly and effectively.
Maybe it is what he needs, Conrad thought with a small smile. He
needs the exposure and the competition and who knows? Maybe a rival will come
out of this.
“Well, I guess I’ll be saying my goodnights then,” he said out loud. “I will
see you tomorrow morning.”
He got nothing in response and wasn’t a bit surprised. Whenever Wolfram fell
into his sullen moods, it could take a while to get him out of it.
Wolfram listened to the receding footsteps until he could hear them no more.
Slowly, he sat up from the bed and stared out of the window without really
seeing anything. He listened to the faint sounds of a dog barking somewhere and
a fire siren going off in the distance. Suddenly, he felt a wave of homesickness
wash over him, causing him to groan in misery. He didn’t want to be in this
city. He already missed their large home in the countryside, a place he had
lived with his mother all his life. But with Gwendal’s decision to buy out the
Royals, he had been forced to move to this place with Conrad in tow. In their
family, Gwendal’s word was law and no matter how much Wolfram had protested the
sudden change, they had gone unheeded. Now, he was forced to attend an all boys
private school – the best in the country according to Gwendal - and to adjust
to a new life away from the comforts of his mother’s attention or his private
tutor. Even the air in the city smelled different and Wolfram had found himself
dry heaving in repulsion several times already since their move here.
Otherwise, things were as fine as they could be. He was in no hurry to make any
new friends in his school and he would only tolerate his baseball teammates
since he had his eyes set on the Minors and teamwork was necessary.
“I’ll prove it to him,” he muttered as he rose to his feet to strip out of his
tuxedo carefully. He opened a drawer to toss out his nightwear to the bed – a
lacey pink gown that was quite comfortable to him. Walking naked to the
bathroom, he filled the plain-looking tub with warm water, his face wrinkling
with distaste at how…simple it all looked. And that was another thing
too. Conrad could be extremely cheap with his taste in furnishings. Left to
Wolfram, he would have preferred to live with Gwendal in his lavish penthouse
but with Anissina around, that option was out of the question. He couldn’t
imagine spending more than an hour in the red-head’s presence. She had the
tendency to try out new ‘things’ on Wolfram and the blond could almost feel
sorry for his older brother for choosing such a woman as his partner.
He sat on the small stool and taking a deep breath, poured the warm water on
his body. He shook his head and wiped his face, hands reaching for the shampoo
to lather his hair with. He wondered what Yuuri the wimp was doing now.
Huh?
He blinked in mid-lather, fingers stuck in his hair as that stray thought
filled his mind again. Why in God’s name was he thinking of that terrible
catcher for the Lion Dandies? And why did he keep calling him a… wimp?!
It wasn’t as if he had met Yuuri before and yet calling him that had seemed so
natural to him.
Like you’ve met him somewhere before…
“Ridiculous,” he scoffed and scrubbed his hair even faster and harder. “Like
I’ve met him before indeed. I would never spend my time talking to a boy like
him. He’s such a…”
“…stuck-up son-of-a-bitch,” Yuuri muttered to himself as he stepped into the
tub with a soft sigh of content. He closed his eyes and allowed the warm water
to soothe over his weary body although it still felt like it was thrumming with
excitement.
Why? Is it because of him? I don’t get it. I just don’t get why…
…I should be thinking of him again, Wolfram thought as he stepped into
the tub with a soft sigh of content. He closed his eyes and leaned back to
relax, allowing the warm water to soothe over his weary body…even though it
felt like it was thrumming with excitement.
What’s happening to me?
He groaned and shivered as a sudden chill seemed to fill the bathroom. His
lashes flew open but his once dark eyes now seemed glazed and unfocused. The
white tiles surrounding him slowly faded away and he found himself in a
bedroom…
…filled with ornate and ostentatious décor that could rival any royal castle.
But it was what was on the large bed that had him gasping in shock and growing
embarrassment.
Oh no! Oh God no...
…it can’t be him!
But it was the blond brat - at least an older version of him – and he was
sprawled on his back completely naked and seemingly fast asleep. However, the
door to the room opened slowly and a shadowy figure walked in as silent as a
mouse.
I wonder who that is. Could it be…?
The wimp!
No, not quite – there was something different about this dark-haired one for
his hair was much longer and his eyes…looked evil, yet inviting and beautiful.
But no matter how silent he was, the blond on the bed opened his eyes and sat
up slowly. His features seemed to flush with color, obviously pleased to see
the visitor.
“You came…” he whispered and held out his hands. “Thank goodness, I thought you
wouldn’t make it in time…”
But words were no longer necessary for the dark-haired one all but pushed his
lover to the bed to…
Argh! Yuuri tried to close his eyes. To look away from the naughty scene
before him. He had only heard of these types of things from the other boys in
school but never actually thought he would get to see it happening right in
front of him…and this was happening with two men which made it even
worse!
“My love…how I’ve missed you…”
“And I you…”
“Promise you’ll never leave me…”
“I promise…”
“But they will come for us. You know that.”
“I will take us to a place where we’ll never be found and where you and I can
live forever.”
They really do care for each other, Wolfram thought as he watched the
two men whispering in the dark. I just hope that they…
He gasped as the sudden sounds of horses neighing and what seemed like a
million marching footsteps filled the air. The two men on the bed pulled apart,
their eyes widening with fear and yet determination.
“We will fight to the death,” the dark-haired one said as he reached out to
grasp the blond’s hand firmly. “I will never leave your side. I promise.”
“One last kiss…” the blond pleaded desperately.
“…just one last kiss until we meet in another life…”
Yuuri’s eyes widened as the two men moved in for the final act, but the doors
were smashed open by the invaders, causing them to pull apart again. He tried
to scream, to warn the lovers that they were surrounded and had to escape…
Run! Wolfram screamed soundlessly. Ruuun!
But it was too late…and he would never know what happened to the two men for he
soon found himself swallowing a mouthful of warm water.
Oh God! I’m drowning! Conrad! Help me!!
He flailed his arms and tried to scream which was a bad idea for even more
water entered his mouth and stung his eyes. His lungs threatened to burst and
just when he thought he would end up dying in his own bathtub, a pair of strong
arms lifted him out of the water and against the solid warmth of a body. He
coughed helplessly, shivering violently as he wrapped his arms tightly around
his rescuer’s neck.
“It’s okay, Wolfram,” came the soothing words from his older brother as he held
the slender body tightly against his. “It’s okay. Everything’s okay now.”
No, it’s not okay, Wolfram thought sadly as he allowed himself to be
carried to the bedroom, having absolutely no strength to argue about being
cared for in such a manner. Nothing is ever going to be okay again.
And as he allowed Conrad to dress him in his nightwear, Wolfram closed his eyes
to stop the tears of sorrow that filled his heart. For he now knew that the
simple kiss between the ill-fated lovers, would never come to pass.
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