09:
“Remind me again why I’m here,” Gwendal mumbled while reaching for another
piece of cheese from the large platter before him.
“Hmmm…because tonight is the unveiling of the new baseball video game based on
the Royals,” Conrad replied quietly, trying to hide his amusement as he took a
sip of his wine.
Both men were dressed in black tuxedos tonight, a requirement for the
over-the-top gala thrown by the EWGames Corporation – one of the largest video
game manufacturers and retailers in the country. The large banquet hall had
been transformed into a gamer haven with bright and multicolored strobe lights,
oversized video game consoles and of course, seemingly thousands of TV screens
along the walls. The venue was more fitting for enthusiastic teenagers or avid
video game fans, not for high class socialites dressed in evening gowns and
tuxedos. Gwendal would have laughed at how ludicrous the situation was, but he
had millions invested in this blasted project and couldn’t afford to have it
all go to waste. If the EWGames team insisted on them dressing like grooms for
the evening, then so be it.
“Any news from the camp yet?” Gwendal asked, his lips thinning as he noticed
the portly man approaching them. It was Mr. Souji, the chairman of the
Corporation no doubt coming to ask a favor from Gwendal again.
Conrad shook his head slowly. “Everything seems to be going well…at least
Adelbert said so.”
“Like you’d believe anything that man says,” Gwendal muttered while helping
himself to a cream puff. He had to admit the finger foods were quite delicious.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if the camp grounds were on fire and he’d happily wave
his hands saying there’s absolutely nothing going on.”
His younger brother had to laugh at that. “You really should learn how to trust
others, Gwendal. I’m sure Adelbert is quite capable of taking care of Wolfram
for you…”
“Didn’t you hear the way he sounded on the phone?” came the gruff interruption.
Souji-san had been stopped by two other guests much to Gwendal’s relief. “He
couldn’t wait to get me off…”
“That’s because you kept complaining about the most mundane of things…”
“Mundane?! I highly doubt asking the man to make sure Wolfram is protected from
such wayward advances is being mundane.”
“He has other things to worry about besides dealing with Yuuri and Wolf…”
“I don’t pay him that much money every year just to sit on his ass and do
nothing, Conrad,” Gwendal snapped coldly. Souji-san was making his way towards
them again. Damn! “If I tell him to look after my kin, he had better do as I
say. Ah, Mr. Souji! I’m so glad you’re here. Now about that rating…”
Conrad watched the transformation in mild amazement. He guessed he ought to be
use to Gwendal’s ‘charm’ and ‘wit’ when in the presence of other businessmen.
His older brother’s rough and gruff attitude hadn’t gained him a lot of fans,
but it had definitely earned him a lot of respect from his peers.
He swirled the drink in his glass, staring at his pale reflection with a light
frown of thought. He was again thinking of the conversation he had had with
Murata and wondered if the boy would really get to ask the High Priestess about
their theories. He still couldn’t get over the fact that Wolfram could be
‘possessed’ by another spirit or something of the sort. These things happened
in fairytales or on TV. Not in real life. He sighed and rubbed a hand across
his forehead, knowing that sleep wouldn’t come easy for him tonight. Just
knowing that Wolfram wasn’t going to be at home waiting for him was going to be
tough to deal with.
“Good grief, I thought he would never leave,” Gwendal said, jarring Conrad’s
thoughts as he stared at the scowling visage.
“What’s wrong?”
“I have to go make a speech now,” Gwendal replied as he reached for a passing
flute of champagne, downed it in one gulp and reached for another cream puff.
“Wish me luck.”
“Good…” But Gwendal was already getting lost in the crowd and before long,
Conrad could see his brother – who, admittedly, looked quite dashing – take the
stage to a loud round of applause from the guests. There was a large velvet
cloth that covered the blown up picture of what the video game would look like
and as Gwendal began to speak, Conrad tried to move closer to listen to what
his brother was saying.
“…honored to be here tonight. Many thanks to EWGames for sponsoring this
event…”
As the crowd applauded again, there seemed to be a commotion coming from the
entrance to the banquet hall. Conrad, who was doing his best to listen to
Gwendal’s speech, couldn’t help turning towards the direction of the noise. It
was no surprise that other guests were getting just as distracted. Gwendal, who
must have noticed this, tried to raise his voice a bit louder, now irritated at
the audacity of crashers coming in at this time.
“…and so with EWGames, I’d like to present to you…”
“IT’S GUNTER VON KLEIST!” came the loud scream from a female member of the
audience. The screams of delight that followed afterwards were incomprehensible
as was the stampede towards the entrance as everyone wanted to get a piece of
the famous international male model. Light bulbs from cameras flashed
repeatedly and Conrad, craning his neck a little, could make out the trademark
luxurious light-purple hair of the tall man who had just walked into the room.
“Gunter…” he muttered, feeling his lips curve into a small but rueful smile. “I
can’t believe you came.”
The model, as if able to hear Conrad’s thoughts, turned to his direction and
flashed a winning smile of delight and recognition. He wanted to wave, but was
swarmed again with reporters, photographers and fans. Conrad chuckled, feeling
a bit sorry for his friend and as he was about to take another sip of his wine,
a husky breathless voice filled his ear.
“Yo.”
Conrad’s eyes widened at the familiar sound, his heartbeat now racing faster as
he felt his skin break out in goose bumps of awareness. He would have turned
around to look at the person but strong hands on his waist and the subsequent
feel of that lean, warm body against his back had him giving a breathless sight
of longing and undeniable happiness.
“Did you miss me, Conrad?” the man whispered, his lips caressing the sensitive
region along Conrad’s neck.
“Yes…” Conrad replied in a thick voice. How long has it been? Eight months? A
year? “Yes, Yozak. Welcome home…”
And as he finally spun around to face the man he had thought he would never see
again, Conrad was faintly aware that his brother, Gwendal, was no longer on the
stage.
CAMP ROYALS
DAILY SCHEDULE:
6:30am – 7:30am – Morning Warm-ups/Jogging/Exercises
8:00am – 9:00am – Breakfast
9:00am – 10:00am – Baseball Basics (Building A) MANDATORY
10:00am – 1:00pm – Practice Field
1:00pm – 2:00pm – Lunch
2:00pm – 3:00pm – Siesta (MANDATORY)
3:00pm – 7:00pm – Practice Field
7:00pm – 8:00pm – Dinner
8:00pm – 9:30pm – Free
10:00pm – Lights Out (MANDATORY)
He’s acting strange.
There was no doubt about it now as the boys finished their breakfasts. Yuuri
was definitely acting differently this morning. Wolfram had awakened first -
not surprising since he had gone to bed earlier - out of breath and with his
hands slapped to his burning cheeks. What had he been dreaming of again? Ah
yes. It was another dream of him and Yuuri – their past selves – locked in
another kiss.
Felt too real though…didn’t it?
Wolfram had shaken his head rapidly, trying to remember that he was still upset
over Yuuri’s decision to leave him the night before.
It’s not like I really care…
But sometime during the night, Wolfram was sure that his dreams had taken a
rapid turn for the better. For one thing, he had been taken back to that
castle, wandering around and all but getting lost in a place which should have
been home to him. But like a knight in shining armor (even he had to gag at
that reference) Yuuri had appeared to him in his older form, smiling warmly at
Wolfram and saying…
(I’m sorry)
…how glad he was to see the blond again. Wolfram couldn’t remember much of the
conversation that had taken place, but what he did know and would not soon
forget was how good the pressure of Yuuri’s lips against his had felt this time
around.
I could actually…taste him this time.
In all the other dreams whenever he and Yuuri had touched, it had felt a
bit…distant – as if watching the events from afar. But this time…
It felt like he was actually kissing me in real life.
He had promptly pinched his cheeks – hard - at the thought and got out
of bed slowly. There was no way in hell that Yuuri –stupid, moronic Yuuri –
would actually do something like that. And yet, Wolfram had found himself
standing on tiptoes to peek at the sleeping boy above him. Just as in the
train, Yuuri’s features looked even more boyish in sleep and Wolfram was more
than tempted to brush away those long dark locks from Yuuri’s forehead. His
gaze, however, drifted to the parted lips and he stared at them for a long
moment.
He did. He didn’t. He might have. He might not. God, I’m being so stupid!
With great effort, he forced himself away from the tempting sight to peel out
of his nightgown. There was no need to worry too much about something (my
first kiss) that had never happened. He had come to the camp for a specific
reason and it definitely wasn’t to improve his love life with a boy like
Shibuya Yuuri.
After the one-millionth furtive glance thrown in his direction, Wolfram finally
had enough. As they made their way to the equipment room to pick up their bats
and helmets for practice, Wolfram slapped a hand on Yuuri’s wrist to pull him
aside.
Eek! What are you doing?!
Shut up and follow me!
Wolfram deduced that physical contact with Yuuri made their telepathic
connection much stronger – so strong in fact that he was sure he had caught
something from Yuuri that sounded a little like ‘Oh God! He knows!’
before it was quickly masked with other conflicting thoughts.
He released Yuuri once away from other listening ears to glare coldly at him.
“All right, Yuuri. Spill it.”
“Spill what? Ow…” Yuuri rubbed his aching wrist. “You don’t know your own
strength, do you, Wolfram?”
“Cut the bullshit and tell me why you’ve been acting so strange this morning,”
Wolfram hissed coldly. Several curious glances came their way and he was sure
that some of the older players were beginning to snicker at the ‘queer duo’.
“Not until you tell me why you’ve been staring at me all morning and then
turning away when I notice.”
“Oh…ah…uum…” Think fast, Shibuya! Think fast!
“Well?”
“Your nightgown!” Yuuri blurted out even before he knew what he was going to
say. He was sure he looked just as stumped as Wolfram.
“My…my nightgown? What has my nightgown got to do with anything?” The
blond asked with bemusement on his features.
“Well, you can’t sleep in that,” Yuuri said with a firm nod, folding his arms
before his chest to hide his trembling hands. How could he possibly forget how
beautiful Wolfram had looked when asleep? Or how he had longed to slip his
hands beneath the flimsy cloth to caress the skin beneath? But he’d be damned
before he told the blond any of that.
“What do you want me to sleep in then?” Wolfram asked, a small smirk forming on
his lips. “Naked?”
Yuuri flushed to the roots of his hair. “No!” he responded a bit breathlessly.
“Just…just don’t wear that to bed around here. What if the older players or
someone comes in to see you like that! They’d…”
“I don’t care,” Wolfram replied with a shrug. “I like sleeping in it. It’s
comfortable.”
And downright sexy as hell…
Yuuri slapped a hand over his mouth as if he had spoken that out loud, while
praying Wolfram hadn’t heard that rather perverted thought. When he noticed no
change in the blond’s expression, he coughed lightly and tried to frown.
“Well, yes, I’m sure it’s very comfortable but around these parts, you’ve got
to wear regular pjs. I can lend you mine if you want.”
A look of genuine surprise and something else Yuuri couldn’t quite place,
flashed on Wolfram’s features. “You…you want me to sleep in your clothes?”
“Sure!” Yuuri said with a grin. He wondered why his heartbeat was quickening
again. “We’re about the same height and everything so it should be no big
deal…”
“Oh great, the queers are now exchanging clothes. What’s next? Sleeping with
each other in the same bed?”
The boys spun around at the jeering remark, noticing it was one of the players
who had taunted them on the train. He was a big and rather ugly young man, with
lots of freckles across his cheeks and small beady eyes that glared with
malice. Yuuri swallowed tightly, feeling the cold claws of fear grip his heart
as he noticed the boy tapping his bat within his palm repeatedly. If he tried
to hit them with that, Yuuri wasn’t sure he would survive.
But I’ll protect Wolfram. I know it! I won’t let anything happen to him!
“Why don’t you go fuck yourself?” came the cool reply from the boy beside him.
Yuuri turned his head to look at Wolfram, eyes widening in shock and yet amazement
at the cold look on his roommate’s visage. There was a deadly calm around the
blond that was not lost on the other two boys and for a moment, Beady Eyes
looked taken aback at Wolfram’s audacity.
However, he recovered quickly. “What did you say, fuckface?”
Wolfram took another step forward and Yuuri was surprised to find that the
blond seemed to be protecting him in some way. “I said,
Why.Don’t.You.Go.Fuck.Your.Self?!”
“You son of a bitch!” Beady Eyes made a move for the couple, his bat raised above
his head in readiness to swing. But a strong hand, from out of nowhere it
seemed, reached out to stop the boy’s movements.
“Oooh, swinging a bat at another player? That could get you in trouble,
Aikawa-chan.”
“Keiichi!” Yuuri cried out in relief as the blond winked at him.
“Hello, boys! Yoichiro and I were wondering why you hadn’t come to the field
yet! And look at what I just had to find…”
“Let me go, you fucking queer!” Beady Eyes aka Aikawa retorted as he released
himself from Keiichi’s grip. “Don’t think this is over! None of you!” He made
his way out of the room, all but shoving Yoichiro, who had walked in, against
the wall in the process.
“Hey!” came the indignant cry.
“Are you two okay?” Keiichi asked as he focused his attention on Yuuri and
Wolfram. “Never mind guys like him. They seem to have been born with
‘troublemaker’ genes or something.”
“Thanks a lot for rescuing us…” Yuuri began.
“Not that we needed it,” Wolfram finished coolly as he picked up his bat,
slammed his helmet on his head and stalked out of the room without looking
back.
Yuuri sighed heavily as he watched the blond disappear from sight. “I just seem
to annoy him all the time,” he muttered softly as he too reached for his bat.
He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to meet Keiichi’s kind blue eyes.
“I wouldn’t worry too much if I were you,” he said with a grin. “Yoichiro hates
my guts and yet he can’t stand to see me hurt…ouch!” He held his aching head
and turned a teary gaze to his roommate.
“Shut it,” Yoichiro replied although his cheeks were dark with embarrassment.
“Come on, already! We’re more than late.”
As the players, sweaty, tired and downright exhausted, stumbled towards the
cafeteria for much-needed lunch, Yuuri knew without a doubt that Coach Adelbert
was a slave driver or must have been one in his past life. The man had made
them run around the baseball diamond over twenty times and had them hitting and
catching balls continuously until their arms ached.
Yuuri leaned against a wall and tried to stretch his legs, his hamstrings
burning from being crouched in a position for too long. He had been forced to
catch balls from several pitchers all afternoon and as much as he loved the
sport, it had definitely been no fun. All in all, he still needed to work on
his ability to catch base stealers. His throwing arm still needed some work and
he had to get his throws accurately. But as usual, it was Wolfram’s hitting
display that had stunned most of the players and even the coaches. They could
not get enough of the blond’s swing and Yuuri had watched, like the others,
with unbeknownst pride in his eyes.
What was even more surprising was Keiichi’s swing. For all his flamboyant
tendencies, the boy was a fantastic hitter. It wasn’t until Yoichiro had whispered
Keiichi’s full name, did Yuuri understand just who the blond wonder was.
Keiichi Oku held the all time record for hits and homeruns in a single season
among high school students. Even though he was in college now, his record was
yet to be broken. Many had thought he would be sent to the Major Leagues after
graduation, but a knee injury had kept him on the sidelines for a year. Yuuri
was ecstatic! To think that he was friends with one of the greatest high school
players ever. It was enough to make his head spin.
“Shibuya! Shibuya!”
He lifted his head at the sound of his name, eyes widening with concern and
mild panic as one of the other junior players – Yuuri wasn’t sure of his name
now – came running up to him. He was out of breath and there was no mistaking
the tears in his eyes.
What the hell…?!
“Shibuya…!” The boy stopped, gasping and trying to get some air into his lungs.
“You’ve… got…to…come…quickly! We were…we were…von Bielefeld and I…stay back…”
“Calm down,” Yuuri said, placing his hands upon the boy’s shoulder, unaware of
the deadly grip or the rapid beating of his heart.
Wolfram! His mind screamed. Where is Wolfram?!
“The senior players!” the boy wheezed, his tears falling faster. “Picking on
me…Von Bielefeld was trying help me but…but…they pushed him in…the lake beside
the field! They…you’ve got to help…!”
Wolfram can’t swim!
“…please….help!”
But Yuuri was no longer listening for his feet were already taking him towards
the direction of the baseball field. The fury that seemed to rage through his
body could not be contained and he was determined to deal with anyone who dared
to harm a hair on Wolfram’s head.
They won’t get away with it! Hold on Wolfram! I’m coming!
Keiichi, who was just making his way to the cafeteria, blinked in surprise as
someone sped past him. He opened his mouth to call out Yuuri’s name but found
that he couldn’t do so for the long-haired person who had just passed him bore
no real resemblance to the boy who went by that name.
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