Title: Relationships

Author: Keitorin

Fandom: Kyou Kara Maou!

Pairing: Yozak x Yuuri x Conrad

Rating: PG-13

Warning: Adult topics brought up

Words: 11.5k

Summary: Yuuri realizes that he cares more about relationships than he thought, and he's got a choice to make that could change everything.

Author's notes: Inspired by Striped Neko's 'The Twelfth Treasure of Shin Makoku' and 'Desperate Times', Poet of Darkness 5's 'Never One', maybe a little of Striped Neko's "Cyrano – A love Story' and one of my own (unpublished) WIP's.

Thanks: To my beta reader, Solaris Moon. I appreciate you doing this even though you were uber busy!

Disclaimer: I don't claim to own Kyou Kara Maou, Bleach or Karneval. The excerpts on (human, not Mazoku) relationships were taken from Wikipedia. I write for fun, not profit.

Finished: July 27, 12:10 A.M.

Terms:

Ofukuro = mother

Bocchan – Young Master (sometimes translated as 'kiddo')

Heika and Geika – Terms to address royalty ('Your Majesty' and such)

Yuuri stood in his office, looking out the window. He was taking a break from the never-ending battle with the paperwork stacked on his desk.

He had a very good view of the castle grounds. The weather was pretty decent that day, and Yuuri wished he were out there. At that very moment, Conrad was out on the field training his men. Yozak was there as well, sparring with one of them.

As Yuuri watched, Yozak suddenly glanced right up at Yuuri, as if sensing his stare. Yuuri jerked back in surprise, but then feeling silly, leaned forward again and waved at the other man. Yozak waved back with a smile and a wink, and went back to sparring. Yuuri watched for a few minutes before turning his gaze to Conrad.

Conrad was showing a young cadet how to properly handle a sword. Even though Yuuri couldn't hear him, he could see by his actions, the way he took his time to make sure the cadet understand and could do it on his own, that Conrad was a good teacher. Yuuri already knew it firsthand, but it was different watching him work with other people.

Even though Conrad could seem stern and distant from afar, once you got to now him, you realized that he was like a pillar of strength, not to mention kindness. Yuuri had once called him his Prince in Shining Armor, and that was still true. Even when Yuuri was trying to stand on his own to show that Conrad that he could, he appreciated Conrad's silent support, watching his back.

Yuuri noticed that he had been thinking a lot about Conrad lately. Trying not to only seemed to make him do it more, so he'd kind of resigned himself to it.

Still, he shifted his eyes over to watch Yozak again – it was always interesting watching the man fight, as it was a whole other side of him that only came out in battle – but his eyes couldn't find his target. Yozak was gone.

Yuuri shrugged and grudgingly turned to work on some more paperwork.

"Heika."

…And nearly jumped out of his shoes when he saw Yozak standing in his doorway, his hand on the doorframe as he leaned into the room a bit.

"Yozak!" Yuuri exclaimed, clutching his hand to his heart.

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you, Bocchan." Yozak grinned apologetically.

"It's okay, it was just unexpected." Yuuri grinned back and settled into his chair, idly shuffling stacks of papers around.

"You've been working for a while, haven't you? How about taking a walk with me?"

Yuuri didn't have to take long to answer. They'd actually already done this a few times, and it was something that Yuuri was very grateful to the other man for. It was always wonderful when he and Conrad went jogging or played baseball, but sometimes it was nice just to take a nice walk and enjoy the scenery, to relax in a different way – and Yozak was good company. He knew when to turn on the humor or to let it just be quiet, to walk in companionable silence.

"Yes!" Yuuri answered, practically hopping out of his chair and skipping over to the older man. Yozak chuckled and moved out of the doorway to let Yuuri exit. Yuuri was too relieved to be taking a break to notice that the chuckle had sounded more subdued than usual.

They had a few different trails they followed: for instance, one for when Yuuri could only take a short break, one for when they wanted to stop and enjoy the scenery, or one for when they wanted to take a longer walk.

Today they decided to take the scenic route.

Yuuri loved walking through the gardens. Sometimes the flowers were like the ones on Earth or similar enough, and sometimes they were so different that Yuuri found himself asking many questions as to what each one was. Yozak, or Conrad, or both on the rare times they all walked together, never seemed to mind answering them.

They walked for a while in peaceful silence, and Yuuri happily stretched out his cramped muscles. It wasn't until they were approaching their usual resting bench that he glanced at Yozak and noticed that the man appeared to be in deep thought.

It was pretty unusual, as even in silence, the man usually emanated good humor. Yuuri opened his mouth to ask if he was all right, at the same time that Yozak gestured for Yuuri to sit on the bench. Yuuri acquiesced.

They sat for a moment, Yuuri enjoying the sun soaking into his shoulders and the breeze ruffling his hair.

Then Yozak spoke.

"Heika… Yuuri." The younger man started at the use of his first name coming from Yozak. He turned on the bench to face the other man fully, sensing that what the other man had to say was important. Yuuri had a moment to think that it was very nice that Yozak was going to confide in him.

"I'm not telling you this because I expect anything from you. I'm telling you this because it's been hard for me to not say anything. As you know, I usually don't have a problem speaking my mind. I feel that I need to be true to myself in this as with anything else."

Yuuri had to grin at that, even though his heart was starting a slow and audible thump thump thump in his chest. What did Yozak need to tell him that was so important to him?

"I like you."

Yuuri's breath stole from his chest, like he'd been punched in the gut, or perhaps like a Kohi had swooped down out of nowhere, grabbing him and taking to the sky. He could only stare in shock, because those words hadn't been a simple statement of 'like' as in, 'I like you as a friend'. There was the unmistakable resonation of 'as in like'.

Yozak continued. "I've liked you for a while, but I've known that nothing can come of it because you're with Wolfram, you're the King and I'm just a soldier, and I know you don't feel that way about men. I know telling you might make it hard for you to be around me, but just know that I'm not expecting anything from you. I don't want to loose your friendship."

It was these last words that brought Yuuri back down to Earth. No matter what Yozak had said before, he didn't want to lose Yozak's friendship. Yuuri opened his mouth to say that, but what came out was,

"But why?!"

Luckily, Yozak understood what he was really asking: why me.

"In the beginning, you know that I wasn't sure you were up to the job. I did see something in you though, and Conrad, well, you know how he feels about you, so I decided to test you. Despite that you were so young and being thrown into the whole thing even though you'd never done anything like that, you sucked it up and did what needed to be done – and you've done it ever since. Since then, I've watched you become the best King this Kingdom has had in a long time. I've been really lucky to be able to watch you turn into the man you are today. Honestly Bocchan, it's hard not to fall in love with you. It helps that you're quite the looker." Yozak winked teasingly, making Yuuri blush even as his brain tried to process the words.

Yozak liked him. Liked him, like that. Yuuri tried to wrap his mind around it.

Here was Yuuri's experience with relationships:

He remembered vaguely a few crushes he'd had on Earth, but nothing had ever come of them.

Then there was his engagement to Wolfram. That had been completely unintentional, and Yuuri knew that he didn't feel that way about Wolfram. The reason he hadn't ended it by now was because he felt obligated, and he was worried about hurting Wolfram if he were to break it off. Then there was Greta. She loved having Wolfram and Yuuri as her parents.

And…wow, that was it. Well, there was Con-

No, no no. That was just some silly misunderstanding his brain was having.

So his experience was zero, but he was sure that he was straight. He liked girls, was attracted to them. Not boys…though he could understand why girls would be attracted to some of them, like Gwendal, especially if he wouldn't frown so much, and Günter, with his long flowing hair, and-

Right. Speaking of Gwendal…he tried to imagine how Gwendal would feel about Yuuri shirking his engagement to Wolfram for Yozak, a soldier. Or Günter's reaction. The man would weep for days. Not to mention Wolfram – he'd kill Yuuri. Then there was Conrad. How would he feel if his best friend were to date his 'little brother' figure? Because Yuuri was sure that that's how Conrad saw Yuuri.

He sighed and mentally smacked himself for thinking ill of everyone like that.

Clearly, he was overthinking this. He wasn't gay, so it didn't matter what everyone thought.

"I-I'm sorry, Yozak, I don't feel that way about you." Yuuri said apologetically. He could see that Yozak already expected the rejection, indeed, he'd said so himself. Yuuri could also see the understanding, that Yozak knew it was a lot for Yuuri to take in. That Yozak was thinking of even him now made Yuuri feel a pang in his chest.

And he saw the pain that the man was trying to hide behind good humor.

"It was worth a try! Thanks for listening to me, Heika. Sorry to drop that on you like that. I'd better head back to the grounds."

Yuuri winced as the man stood, turned on his heel and left.

That's what Yuuri felt like – a heel. He knew it couldn't be helped, as he didn't feel that way about Yozak, but he still felt incredibly bad for hurting his friend.

For the rest of the day, Yuuri couldn't get anything done. He kept flashing back to that scene, and what he saw wasn't the pain of rejection, but the tiny flame of hope being extinguished.

***

The next day, Yuuri tried to cheer up. Yozak would get over it in time. It wasn't Yuuri's fault (or Yozak's for that matter; love didn't care about circumstances), so there was no reason to feel so bad.

He decided to do his paperwork in Gwendal's office for the company. He didn't feel like being alone with his thoughts.

At lunchtime, Gwendal and Yuuri took a respite to get something to eat. As Yuuri passed the open doors of the castle, he saw Conrad and Yozak eating side by side on the steps. Even from the back, Yuuri could tell that Yozak was feeling down by the slump of his shoulders.

Yuuri hurriedly moved along before either man could notice him.

After lunch, he was back in his office for a while, as Günter had come to discuss something with Gwendal. It was strange how the other man had blushed when he'd seen Yuuri there, probably expecting Gwendal to be alone. Günter often did strange things, so Yuuri had just shrugged.

He hadn't felt like dealing with Günter's questions as to why he kept sighing, anyway. Gwendal had been patient and allowed him to be gloomy, though Yuuri could see that he was starting to annoy the man. So this was for the best.

It was when he caught himself for the fourth time thinking about the situation that he sighed and gave in.

He put down his pen and sat back in his chair, hands locked behind his head.

It was normal to worry about a friend like this, so maybe if he thought about it for a while it would help get his thoughts in order.

When Yuuri thought about it, it was actually kind of flattering that Yozak thought so much of him. In a way, Yuuri did return some of the man's feelings. He respected the man for all that he had done for Yuuri. Yozak had pushed him to get past a line he didn't think he could cross, his 'comfort level'. He had been a bit of a wimp, as Wolfram liked to call him, before he had met Conrad and Yozak. Faced with their strength, he'd had no choice but to grow himself. He'd come to want to prove to them that he could be something more than a lost and utterly confused boy in a world that needed his help.

He definitely wouldn't have been able to be this strong without his friends at his side.

Feeling a little better, Yuuri continued his work.

Still, there was a sentence that Yozak had said that kept bothering Yuuri.

"I feel that I need to be true to myself."

***

Yuuri took an afternoon break from work to do a lesson with Günter. It was easier to understand everything now that he knew a lot more about this world. Sometimes he could even say it was enjoyable, and Günter always had smiles ready for when Yuuri would show his knowledge of something or take an interest in a subject.

Then he went looking for Greta. He hadn't seen her in a few days actually, having been preoccupied.

When he found her, it was to see that she was sitting with Wolfram in her chambers reading. Yuuri felt momentary guilty for forgetting about Wolfram, before Greta spotted him and called him in. With a smile, he joined them.

***

Yuuri took a jog with Conrad in the early morning. He'd been able to sleep pretty decently.

"How have you been, Heika?" Conrad asked as they ran side by side, Conrad keeping his pace to match Yuuri's slightly slower one.

"I'm fine." Yuuri gave a smile to the other man, deciding for now to ignore the use of his title instead of his name.

Yuuri loved being around the other man. He always felt safe with him, and never felt forced to talk - but he always wanted to, because he knew the other man would listen and give his opinion without forcing it on him.

On an impulse, Yuuri considered telling Conrad about Yozak's confession. That led him to falter in his running as he wondered if Conrad didn't already know. He knew that Conrad and Yozak were very close. Would Yozak tell him, or would Conrad just know?

Yuuri couldn't think of a way to bring it up, so said nothing. When the two parted ways, Conrad rested a warm, comforting hand on his shoulder before he left. Yuuri stared after him, placing his own hand over the warm spot he imagined was still lingering there.

Later, Yuuri was once more settled down for paperwork. He actually only had one stack left. The reason he'd had so much lately was because he'd spent a whole three weeks (which was a little over five weeks in Shin Makoku) back on Earth, studying and taking tests for school.

On a whim, he glanced out his window, not really expecting to see anything. He should have known better.

Conrad and Yozak were on the grounds again. This time it was Conrad sparring with one of the stronger soldiers, while Yozak directed.

It looked like he was showing a soldier how to take someone down without critically injuring them, with a sword and without. He made as if to punch the soldier's gut, making the man flinch, but Yozak stopped the punch an inch away from the man's stomach.

When the man finally peeked open his eyes, Yozak laughed and punched the man lightly on the soldier instead. The man seemed to pout for a moment, but soon joined in on the good-natured laughing.

Yuuri found a grin on his face as well. Whether he was silently supportive or joking and making people relax and laugh, he was a kind-hearted man no matter what Yozak said about himself.

Yozak really was a good catch for some lucky person out there. People always liked someone who could make them laugh.

When Yuuri realized what he was thinking, he dived back into his papers. But not before he saw Yozak glance up at his window with a look in his eyes that made Yuuri quickly back away.

That night he laid awake, tossing and turning as his mind seemed to explode with thoughts.

."I feel that I need to be true to myself in this as with anything else."

"Honestly Bocchan, it's hard not to fall in love with you…"

The look on Yozak's face…the pain, the hope…the set of his shoulders…

It hurt to see Yozak hurt. It hurt to see any of his friends in pain.

Yozak really was quite an attractive man…

The next morning, Yuuri awoke knowing that he'd had some really interesting dreams, but he couldn't remember the details.

Only…there was orange, and there was the most beautiful blue… and there was brown, too…

Nothing else.

That day was very strange. Yuuri felt something coming on, and was quite helpless to stop it. He felt reckless, and foolish, and scared.

He always used the excuse that he was still young. He could always find someone later. But he'd begun to realize in the last few weeks that he did want that. He wanted to be with someone in that way, to experience it.

But he'd never been with anyone like that before, and he admitted to himself that it scared him to even want to be.

…But.

"I need to be true to myself…"

What if he woke up one day regretting that he never took that step, never admitted to himself that he could have that, if only he'd been…if only he had been true to himself.

The realization of it made Yuuri light-headed and gasping for breath. He was hovering on the edge of action and inaction. Luckily his adrenaline was pumping, and he had a nice dose of recklessness always waiting to be let loose.

Hopefully it wouldn't end in disaster like it sometimes did. But then, everyone was still alive, so there was hope that he would survive this as well…

***

Dashing out of the castle, Yuuri first checking the training grounds – but nothing, they were empty. It was already past lunchtime, so Yozak wouldn't be in the dining hall…

Yuuri remembered that he stayed in the stables most of the time. He headed in that direction.

As he neared them, he slowed down in sudden fear.

What if it didn't work out? What if it turned out it was all just hormones, or that he wasn't good with relationships, or that his embarrassment and inexperience led to the other man getting tired of him?

Then there were the reactions of everyone else to consider.

No, he was getting ahead of himself. Besides…it wasn't right to let others dictate, even in just his thoughts, what was the right or wrong thing to do.

Yuuri just wanted to talk to Yozak, find out if the possibility was there that it could go somewhere. That's all.

He took several deep breaths and peeked around a pillar. He had his mouth halfway open to call out to Yozak, and that's when he saw them.

Yozak had Conrad pinned to the wall of the stables, and was kissing him. It wasn't a chaste kiss at all, Yuuri thought with a blush. It was a full on passionate French kiss.

Yuuri couldn't help but stay for a moment longer, maybe just to confirm what he was seeing, before he dashed off, heart and mind in turmoil.

Later, he sat slumped down in his desk chair.

"Well, that's it then." He mumbled despondently to himself. There went his chance, just like he'd feared would happen.

There was no way he could say anything now, not when it was obvious that Yozak had found someone – someone that Yuuri wanted to be happy as well, someone that he liked as much if not even more than Yozak.

Having no paperwork left to do, Yuuri buried his face in his arms and tried to think of nothing. He eventually fell into a restless sleep.

Some undeterminable amount of time later, he was awoken by a hand gently shaking his shoulder.

"Wake up, Heika. It's late…"

Yuuri slowly returned to the land of the living, yawning and stretching. He blinked blearily up at Günter, who was hovering over him anxiously.

"Heika…I've noticed that you seem a bit…down recently." Günter started.

"I'm fine, really. It's just that all that paperwork…" Yuuri made a face to show what he thought of it. For the most part, Günter looked like he believed him.

"Maybe you could take a break and visit your family." He suggested, surprising Yuuri. Usually the man preferred him to be there at the Castle as much as possible. Yuuri must have really looked pretty down then.

"Uh, sure, that'd be great." He smiled gratefully at the other man, who returned it with a relieved look.

Maybe a break from here would do him some good. He didn't want to worry anyone needlessly. Also, he wanted to talk to someone, but didn't feel he could talk to anyone here – they were all too involved. Maybe Murata wouldn't mind listening to him.

That night, he dreamt again. This time when he woke up, he remembered the laughter of three people who sounded very familiar.

He had Gwendal let everyone know that he would be leaving for a few days. If the man thought it unusual that Yuuri wasn't telling everyone himself, he didn't show it.

Immediately upon his arrival home, he was bombarded by his mother's hugs, which, while embarrassing, was what he was used to. Shouri even made an appearance, and Yuuri talked to him for a bit before texting Murata to find out if he was at home since it wasn't a school day. He set off after receiving an affirmation message.

Murata greeted him at the door when he arrived, looking happy to see him. It made Yuuri feel lighter than he had in days, and the two headed for Murata's room for privacy, even though no one else was home.

"So what's wrong?" Murata asked as soon as Yuuri had settled down on the bed. Murata was sitting backwards in his desk chair facing him.

"I never said anything was wrong." Yuuri pouted. It wasn't fair that Murata knew him so well, when Murata could be so mysterious!

"You didn't have to, it's obvious." Murata pushed up his glasses with a smirk. Yuuri rolled his eyes and tried to figure out where to start.

He knew Murata wouldn't judge, but he decided to omit names anyway.

After he was finished with his story, they sat in a silence that was probably only uncomfortable for Yuuri, as Murata processed everything.

"I think one thing you need to do first thing is decide what you're going to do about Wolfram. It's obvious you have strong feelings for someone else. What about Wolfram?"

Yuuri had already been thinking about this topic himself.

"Yeah, I know. It's totally unfair to Wolfram to keep this up. It's my fault for letting it go on this long… I wanted to avoid hurting him, which it seems is what I'm going to do anyway. I also didn't want to disappoint anyone by backing out of it. And Greta loves Wolfram…" Yuuri frowned. He'd definitely made a stupid blunder due to his cluelessness about the customs of Shin Makoku. After that, you can bet that he was always careful of such simple actions as picking up utensils for someone, or taking enough offence at an insult to slap them. Besides, Yozak had taught him to throw a punch at someone if needed, so slapping was unnecessary now.

He was getting off track.

"So you're going to break it off." Murata half-stated, half-asked. Yuuri glanced up and wondered why Murata seemed so interested in this. Well, he was naturally interested in the state of things, though he always seemed to know it already, so maybe it was probably normal.

"I think it needs to be done. It would be doing us both a disservice to let it go on any further."

Murata nodded in agreement.

"About your other problem… I'm sorry to say that there is no cure. Unless you count time. As for being around them, I don't recommend avoidance. That'll only make it harder when you have to be around them. So I recommend seeing them in small doses, until you've built up some tolerance."

Yuuri stared in awe at his best friend. Yuuri knew that he was very wise, even though he was also perverted and silly at times, but he even knew about love problems like this. He had to remind himself that while his friend looked young, he had the memories of someone who was much, much older, and other lives in the mix to make it more complicated.

"Have…have you ever been rejected?" Yuuri asked curiously.

Murata did that creepy thing where he angled his head just so that you couldn't see his eyes, just the gleam of his glasses.

"Probably." And that was all he would say on that subject.

Yuuri thanked him profusely for the advice and invited him over for dinner. Murata politely declined, saying that he needed to finish his homework, and then he handed Yuuri a stack of schoolwork he'd been collecting for him.

"Gee, thanks." Yuuri said sarcastically before leaving. He thought he heard a quiet, "you're welcome, Yuuri" spoken to his back, but he was too busy grumbling to be sure.

Now that Yuuri had a plan, even it wouldn't fix everything immediately, he felt better. He was able to get much of his homework done while his mother flitted about happily and made dinner.

His dreams that night were blissfully normal.

***

When he woke the next morning, he decided that since he'd come to a decision, he deserved some time to himself, so he decided to go out and buy some presents for everyone. It'd been a while since he'd done that.

The first stop was a bookstore. He grabbed a book on World History for Günter, and then struggled to pick out a romance novel for him. Finally, the cashier stepped in and helped him pick one, and Yuuri had to (with a blush on his face) explain that it was for a friend. It was obvious that she assumed it was for a girlfriend.

Carrying the two books, he headed over to the crafts section to find a book on crocheting for Gwendal. He knew Anissina had taught him to knit, but he didn't think Gwendal knew how to crochet, and his mom had suggested he get him a book on it.

She'd actually wanted to come with him, but Yuuri wanted to enjoy picking out the gifts himself, though he'd also had to get advice on Greta and Wolfram's gifts. She'd offered the advice on Gwendal's book and Günter's romance novel herself, after he told her about their hobbies and personalities.

The next stop was the manga shop. There, he picked out a few he thought Yozak might like: Bleach volume 1 and 2 and volume 1 of one called Karneval that Yuuri had never read but that he thought looked interesting.

Then he headed to the store to pick the rest of the items up.

Wolfram's present was some special and shampoo and conditioner that Jennifer had recommended to him once when he'd come to Earth with Yuuri.

He stopped by the crafts section to pick up some crochet hooks and yarn for Gwendal to go along with his book.

This next one Yuuri dreaded a bit. Clothes for Greta.

He managed to pick out a few outfits that he thought would look cute on her. As he passed the toy section, he spotted a stuffed toy tiger that he also couldn't resist getting for her.

Lastly were Conrad and Yozak's presents, which were sword-cleaning kits. He'd actually already gotten some for Conrad before, so this was a refill.

He wished that he could think of something else to get, something more personal, but he was too unsure of what would be right.

Done with shopping, it was as Yuuri was heading for the check out desk that he spotted the jewelry department. He wasn't much into wearing jewelry himself, except for Conrad's necklace, but he felt a compulsion to stop and look this time.

He stopped to stare down into the glass that covered the more expensive items, and his eyes were immediately drawn to a gold band. It was plain, but it felt special to Yuuri somehow, and before long he found himself getting the worker's attention so that he could get a closer look.

He left the store, broke but carrying a gift-wrapped package for one of the most important men in his life. He even put a card on the box that said:

"It doesn't have memories like your necklace, but I hope you like it anyway. - Yuuri

It was only when he got home and his mother was looking excitedly through his presents that he panicked a bit, wondering if it was over the top. On Earth, rings could mean any numbers of things or nothing at all. What if rings had a different meaning in Shin Makoku than here? He tried to remember if he saw anyone wearing a ring in the other world, but his mind drew a blank.

He took a calming breath. He could always take it back to the store if he decided not to give it to the man.

…Then his mother saw him staring at the ring and wouldn't leave him along for the rest of the day.

Yuuri spent the next few days trying to just relax and enjoy spending time with his family.

On the day before he was to return home, Murata came over and spent the day playing games with him, which kept his mind occupied.

He kept having to remind himself that if Wolfram tried to kill him, Conrad would come to his aid, and as for the other problem, time would heal him…

Before Yuuri disappeared into the water, all presents bundled up and ready to go, his mom handed him a bag of wrapped cookies with an encouraging smile (she had ideas about the ring that Yuuri had been avoiding thinking about). Yuuri smiled gratefully and was gone.

***

"Heika!" Was the first thing Yuuri heard as he surfaced out of the water. Two pairs of hands helped him climb out.

"Thanks." He said gratefully, sweeping the water off of his face and hair.

Günter and Conrad were standing before him. Yuuri fought not to blush as the memory of Yozak and Conrad kissing against the wall came back to him.

Yuuri coughed. "Hi."

"You're looking much better, Heika. I knew a break would be just the thing!" Günter said happily, taking a towel from a servant and starting to pat him dry.

"Yeah, it was nice." Yuuri agreed, taking the towel to do it himself. He noticed that Conrad was watching him, and wondered if he'd been aware of Yuuri's mood. What was he thinking, of course Conrad knew – he was his Nazukeoya.

After changing into some dry clothes, Yuuri's first stop was Gwendal's office to get caught up.

Apparently, it had been a week since he'd left, but nothing happened that Gwendal couldn't take care of while Yuuri was gone. Yuuri did have a whole new stack of paperwork waiting for him, though.

He had brought Gwendal's bundle of presents with him, and set it on the man's desk. Gwendal peered at it curiously until Yuuri gestured at him to open it.

Yuuri got the rare treat of seeing Gwendal's face light up. With a big smile on his face, he watched as Gwendal flipped through the book.

"Ah, I was thinking we could use a spell to translate it into the language here."

Gwendal looked up at him and seemed to struggle with words. His hands idly ran over the soft yarn skeins that Yuuri had chosen.

"You're welcome, Gwendal! I hope you enjoy your presents."

"Thank you." Gwendal got out, giving a small smile that Yuuri easily picked up on. Yuuri gave him a warm smile in return before almost skipping out of the room. He loved seeing people happy!

Next he found Günter in his office reading a book.

He put it down and looked up as Yuuri peeked in.

"Heika! Come in."

Yuuri took the seat across from Günter and, same as before, set the bundle on Günter's desk.

"Presents." Yuuri grinned, amused when Günter got really excited and dug into the bundle like a kid on Christmas.

"The one in your hand is a book on the history of Earth. I thought you might be interested in learning more about where I came from." He explained as Günter stared at the cover of 'World History'.

"Oh, I love it! To learn the history of the place you were born…!"

Next he picked up the romance novel. Yuuri scratched his nose and explained that too.

"I saw you reading a romance novel a few weeks ago in the library."

Günter looked touched, tears welling up in the corner of his eyes.

"Oh, Heika! So thoughtful – I love them!" The he proceeded to reach over the desk and hug Yuuri until he begged for air, laughing.

When it came to Wolfram's present, Yuuri got nervous and decided to visit Greta first.

It took a while to find her, mostly because he'd been looking outside, but he was finally told by one of the servants that she was helping out in the kitchen.

"Yuuri!" She called out happily as he appeared. She was sitting on a bench and peeling potatoes. Yuuri saw the signs of a stew being made, and his stomach gave a low grumble. The maids laughed, making Yuuri flush in embarrassment.

"Greta! Wash your hands, okay? Wouldn't want to get your presents dirty." He grinned, and took the bundle out from behind his back to show her. Her eyes got wide and excited, and she immediately went over to the sink to wash her hands.

Yuuri pulled over a stool while Greta returned to hers. He handed over the bundle and watched with a paternal smile as she shredded the paper to get to the presents inside.

She found the clothes first, ooh'ing and ahh'ing, along with the maids, at the different styles. The red with white polka-dot dress seemed to be her favorite, as she held it against her body and danced around the kitchen.

Once she settled down, Yuuri handed her the last present.

"So soft!" She exclaimed, hugging the tiger like it was a giant teddy bear.

Then she turned the hug onto him, and he danced around the kitchen with her like that, laughing.

It wasn't until he'd put her down and turned to leave when he noticed Conrad leaning in the doorway, watching them with a warm smile on his face. Yuuri blushed and waved.

The two headed in silence down the hallway together until Yuuri excused himself to talk to Wolfram.

He knocked on the door to his chambers, but no one answered. Yuuri thought it was good luck, and entered the room. He went to the bathroom with the bundle and put the hair products in the shower.

He wasn't so lucky when he went to exit, as Wolfram saw him and came in.

"Yuuri! I didn't know you were back. What do you want?" He asked suspiciously.

Yuuri scratched his head and gathered up his courage.

"I need to talk to you."

Perhaps Wolfram caught something in his tone, as he became serious and followed Yuuri into the room without argument.

Minutes later, a slap resounded around the room. Luckily, it was soundproof or Yuuri would have had Conrad rushing in to see what was going in.

Yuuri left the room alone and went to his own chambers to calm down and think.

It had not gone as bad as Yuuri had thought it would go. In fact, it was worse. He'd half-expected Wolfram to get mad and attack him.

Not that deeply hurt expression that had been on Wolfram's face when Yuuri had told him he didn't think he could ever feel that way for him.

…What made it worse, if worse was possible, was that Yuuri felt guiltier for rejecting Yozak than for breaking it off with Wolfram.

Yuuri was sprawled on his back in bed when someone knocked on his door. He debated answering.

"It's me, Heika."

Conrad.

"Come in." He mumbled, confident that Conrad would catch the words.

Yuuri kept his eyes closed, an arm over his eyes, as the door opened and the other man entered.

It was silent for a moment, until Yuuri was startled by a cold compress being pressed against his stinging cheek.

He lifted his arm off of his face and reached over to hold the compress into place himself.

Conrad had brought a chair over and was sitting beside his bed.

"Thanks, Conrad."

Conrad just nodded and watched over him.

Eventually, Yuuri felt like speaking.

"I hurt Wolfram. I didn't mean to…but I hurt him deeply." Yuuri whispered.

Yuuri knew that Conrad loved his brother, but he also knew that Conrad wasn't one to judge, at least not openly. He cared for Yuuri as well.

"I know. Wolfram really liked you. He doesn't hate you, he's just hurt. He needs time to come to turns with this."

Yuuri skimmed his eyes over the other man's face. He always knew the right words to say, or imply, or not say but show in his eyes. Yuuri nodded and sighed.

"Yeah, I know. Time is the only cure. I just…wish I'd done it sooner, so maybe it wouldn't hurt so bad."

They both knew it wasn't Yuuri's hurt that they were talking about.

Yuuri was surprised when Conrad reached over and laid a hand on his arm. It was the most comforting thing anyone had done lately, and Yuuri couldn't resist curling over and resting his head on the hand.

"Thanks for being here, Conrad."

"Always."

Yuuri wished that Wolfram was the type to let someone comfort him. Maybe Cheri would come home soon… She loved her sons dearly and would do anything for them.

***

Yuuri woke up about an hour later, having drifted off. Conrad was sitting in the same exact spot. He jerked up in bed, dislodging the man's (probably numb) hand from his.

"Ah, sorry! I didn't mean to fall asleep on you."

Conrad just smiled and said, "It's fine, you looked like you needed the rest, Heika."

"It's Yuuri, Nazukeoya." Yuuri huffed in reply, slipping off the bed and stretching. He still had a present to give. He walked over to his bag and retrieved Conrad's stuff.

"I got you a re-supply of sword-cleaner. Yozak said you were running out a couple of weeks ago."

Yuuri was careful to keep the box with the ring out of sight as he handed the kit over.

"Thank you, Heika." Conrad smiled thankfully up at him.

"You're welcome. I got some for Yozak too."

"What do you have there?" Conrad pointed to the lump left in the bag labeled "Conrad".

Yuuri panicked and stuttered out, "A-ah, it's nothing. Well, I got it for you, but then I wasn't sure what it means here, so I was going to ask, but then I forgot and-"

Yuuri abruptly shut himself up once he realized that he was making no sense.

…He couldn't stop Conrad from reaching down and taking out the box.

Yuuri nervously chewed on his lip as Conrad read the card, then opened the box.

When Conrad didn't say anything, Yuuri defaulted back to rambling.

"I'm not sure if it's your size, and I don't know what rings mean here if anything, but it just looked so you, and you don't have to wear it, and it might get in the way when fighting, but…"

On the last 'but', Conrad slipped the ring right on the middle finger of his left hand. It seemed to fit perfectly.

"…It fits!" Yuuri stated needlessly, but Conrad was smiling…smiling in a way that made Yuuri go completely still and awed. It was a beautifully tender expression that made him wish he had a camera, so he could capture the moment to hold forever.

"It's perfect, Yuuri. Thank you." Were Conrad's heartfelt words to him. For some inexplicable reason, Yuuri found himself tearing up. Completely embarrassed, he hopped up, gave the sitting man a quick hug and practically ran over to the bag to retrieve his last package.

"One more present to give! See you later, Conrad!"

And then he was gone, leaving behind the thoughtful swordsmen who stared after him until even after his footsteps had faded.

***

Yuuri stopped by a bathroom to wash his face, hoping to get ride of the redness in his cheeks. After, he headed for the stables to where he hoped Yozak was.

Thankfully, he was there, so Yuuri wouldn't have to do any searching. Looking for Greta had been enough for him.

Yozak was brushing out a horse's mane. He looked up when Yuuri entered, seeming surprised to see him.

"Bocchan."

"Hey, Yozak. I just got back from Earth, and I brought some presents." He handed the last bundle over to other man.

Yuuri felt a little awkward, as this was the first time he'd talked to Yozak since the confession. He wasn't sure how to act, so he tried to pretend that everything was fine.

"Well, thank you!" Yozak genuinely seemed happy as he opened the bundle. He found the kit first.

"The reason Conrad ran out is because I was sneaking and using his. Now I have my own! " Yozak laughed, setting it aside. Yuuri laughed too, but they both knew that Conrad knew full well and had maybe even given permission for Yozak to use it.

Next he pulled out the books. Seeing his confusion, Yuuri rushed to explain.

"You're always out on the road, so I thought it'd be nice if you had something to read when you had time. I got you 'Bleach' because it's one I like, and it has a lot of action. I've never read 'Karneval' but thought it looked interesting. I hope you like them…" Yuuri added nervously.

It was ridiculous – they were just simple gifts, but he was afraid that Yozak wouldn't like them. Perhaps Yozak could see it on Yuuri's face, because he quickly reassured him.

"I love them, thank you." Then Yuuri was treated to the same look he'd saw Conrad give his present, only this time the look was directed right at him. It made Yuuri blush. He hastily thought of something to say to detract attention from it.

"Are you with Conrad?!"

………………………

…That was not what he had meant to ask! Yuuri was utterly mortified, and his face was probably as red as a tomato now. Yozak must think he was pretty tactless.

But when he looked up, Yozak just looked thoughtful and a bit amused at Yuuri's embarrassment.

"Not in the strictly conventional sense no. We're not in a romantic relationship, but, pardon my language, we do sleep together."

"Friends with benefits." Yuuri comprehended.

"That's a nifty term for it."

So Yozak and Conrad were together, but not in a romantic sense. Yuuri wondered why. As always, Yozak seemed to know what he wanted to ask.

"It's probably not my place to tell you, but Conrad has someone that he likes. Being noble and all, he doesn't feel it's right to lead me on." He explained.

…Conrad had someone he liked? That was totally a surprise. Who could it be?

"Why do you ask, Heika?" Yozak asked curiously.

Yuuri floundered on an answer. Fortunately, Conrad chose that moment to arrive with Greta following behind

Conrad seemed to look over the situation while Greta greeted Yuuri.

"Will you come play Hide-and-Go-Seek with me? Conrad said he'd play!" She said excitably, and Yuuri never was able to resist, so he agreed. Yozak volunteered, and they all set off for a place with good hiding spots.

Greta wanted to be "It", so the other three were left to find hiding places before the countdown ended.

Yuuri struggled for a while to find a good place. The first one he'd found had…already been occupied, and by some creature that Yuuri wasn't sure he wanted to know the name of. The second place had turned out to be the home of a grumpy hive of bugs – half bee, half spider. Yuuri shuddered when he thought about all the stingers and creepy crawly legs.

Finally, he decided to heck with it and tried to climb a tree. He was just reaching a nice level when his foot slipped, and at the same time he heard Greta yell out "100!".

Yuuri scrunched his eyes closed in preparation for a fall that never came. A hand latched onto his arm, pulling him the rest of the way up with a strong and sure grip.

Once he was able to settle firmly onto a branch, he looked over to see Conrad staring at him from the branch beside him. The other man grinned at him and put a finger to his lips.

The branches were close together, so Yuuri found himself sitting right up against his friend. It was warm, and the weight against him was surprisingly comforting. It made Yuuri want to just lean into it and doze off.

And that's what Yuuri found himself doing, until he heard a girlish voice yelling 'gotcha!' and felt fingers running through his hair, scratching again his scalp lightly. He felt the ring on Conrad's finger. Yuuri shivered, and his heart seemed to jump in his chest.

Unfortunately, Yozak was a good finder, so with him on her side, they easily found the two hiding up the tree. Yuuri almost regretted it and blushed at the remembered sensation of the fingers stroking him.

He was so distracted by the thought that he slipped a second time, this time going down the tree. Luckily, he was caught in Yozak's waiting arms.

"Whoa, careful Heika. You're not a Lokey."

"A what?" Yuuri said breathlessly, clinging onto Yozak, nose pressed into his neck as he tried to catch his breath and ease the vertigo from the sudden fall.

It was because Yuuri was so close that he heard the noise Yozak made low in his throat, and felt his racing heartbeat against his hand resting on the older man's chest.

Instead of slowing down, Yuuri's heartbeat sped up to match the tempo of the other's.

"Leopard-Monkey.' Conrad supplied helpfully, jumping down from the tree and looking Yuuri over for injuries.

"A-ah." Yuuri replied as Yozak carefully set him down on his feet.

All of a sudden, Greta started laughing. As one, they turned to her to see what she was laughing at. She was pointing at something on Yuuri.

Yuuri looked down and saw immediately what was so funny. He was missing a shoe, and some type of large bug creature (thankfully not a Bee-Spider) was nibbling on his sock. It'd be just his luck if it were a flesh-eating one. He pouted and promptly plopped himself on the ground to remove the offensive creature.

That's when Yozak joined in the laughing, and Conrad soon followed.

When he looked up and saw his happy family before him, Yuuri couldn't help but forget his irritation and join in. He thought about how right this felt, being with them.

On the way back to the castle, Yuuri found himself glancing at the two men often. Sometimes, he'd get caught at it and look away, blushing. But sometimes he boldly returned the looks.

He missed the way Greta was watching them and giggling.

***

The next day, Yuuri decided to make a quick visit to Earth. He had something he needed to find out.

Ulrike was fine with it, though Gwendal didn't understand why he couldn't do what he needed to when he'd gone the last time. Yuuri explained that he hadn't known he was going to need to do it until now. Gwendal gave in and then asked Yuuri if he'd stop by and get him some more yarn.

Amused, Yuuri left for home.

When he entered his kitchen through the glass doors, it was to the sight of Murata and Jennifer in aprons cooking up a storm. Apparently they'd found out that he was coming.

"Hi, ofukuro." He waved as he headed towards his room. He needed to change and get his library card.

As he was about to head to the kitchen for supper, Murata appeared, cleaning a spoon off with his tongue. Yuuri figured that he wanted to catch up on everything that had happened since last time they'd seen each other.

Yuuri explained how he'd dealing with his feelings for both men, and how he was here to see if he could find some information on this time of thing from the library. Murata was completely supportive, for which Yuuri was grateful. Maybe it was something about being a Mazoku and having lived many lives that made him so open-minded. It Yuuri curious how the Mazoku viewed relationships. Maybe he'd check out the library in the castle when he returned to find out.

After a delicious meal, Yuuri headed to the local library. Murata had some things to take back and check out, so he went along.

Yuuri was a bit embarrassed to be reading a book with such an obvious title, but he found an isolated table to sit and read it at.

Before long, he was quite absorbed in the book. It was so fascinating. It was like he'd been clued out on all of this stuff until he read this book.

Admittedly, he'd never been interested in romantic or physical relationships enough to put in time to learn more, but now he was fascinated at all the types of relationships actually there were out there.

Then he got to one section titled "Polyamory".

It blew his mind. Particular sentences repeated in his brain.

The defining characteristic of polyamory is belief in the possibility of, and value of, multiple romantic loving relationships carried out "with the knowledge and consent of all partners concerned".

In practice, polyamorous relationships are highly varied and individualized. Ideally they are built upon values of trust, loyalty, negotiation, and compersion ("the experience of taking pleasure (not necessarily sexual) that one's partner is experiencing pleasure, even if the source of their pleasure is other than yourself"), as well as rejection of jealousy, possessiveness, and restrictive cultural standards…

The more he read, the more intrigued he became, to the point that he had to sit back and remind himself that just because this sounded like a perfect solution, did not mean that it was for all parties, or else he would have heard of this before now.

Still, Yuuri wished he had looked this all up before. It was a fascinating read.

By the time he was finished, it was already late and it was almost closing time. Murata was sitting a few seats down from him on the opposite side of the table reading his own book, but put it away once he saw that Yuuri was finished.

"How was it?" Murata asked with a teasing grin on his face as they headed out of the building.

"Fascinating!" Yuuri answered honestly. "I never knew about half the stuff in there."

Yuuri's excited chatter and Murata's patient and sometimes amused replies filled up the silence the whole way home.

The next day, Yuuri quickly picked up Gwendal's yarn and got ready to leave again. He was surprised when Murata came to stand beside him with a bag of his own.

"Murata?" He questioned.

"I thought I'd go with you." Murata grinned. It'd been a while since he'd visited Shin Makoku.

They arrived safe and sound to the joyous calls of "Geika!" and some "Heika's!" for added effect.

While Murata headed off to talk to Ulrike, Yuuri went straight to the library. He was going to see if there was a book like the one on Earth, only about Mazoku relationships.

No one expected that to be his first destination, so no one came in to look for him.

It took him a while to find the proper section, as he didn't come here often (at least without Günter). When he did find it, he was surprised that it was actually quite a large section. He took down a book at random and flipped it open.

The book was dropped immediately as Yuuri took in the picture of a man being flogged by his male partner.

Unfortunately, dropping it only caused it to flip open to a new page. This one was of a man giving a blowjob to another man.

All the blood rushed to Yuuri's head, making him slightly dizzy. He quickly reached down, shut the book and jammed it back onto the shelf.

Still blushing, he searched the section more closely until he found a book titled "Relationships of Mazoku Past and Future". Hm, catchy.

Yuuri took it and settled into a comfortable armchair in the corner.

If possible this book was even more fascinating, and Yuuri practically buried his face in the book.

Eventually he got to the section he was looking for.

An engaged or married Mazoku may also have a lover. The other engaged or married partner does not have to consent to it, but respect between partners is essential. The other engaged or married partner, by tradition, has more responsibility than the lover, but the persons in the relationship ultimately decide upon the roles.

The role of 'lover' first came about when people married for money or place in society. The husband or wife would fulfill their duties as spouse, and have a lover on the side for matters of the heart.

Note that not all cases were such. Sometimes the lover was shared between the spouses, either separately or together. Sometimes the spouses loved each other and the lover mutually, or just each other and one being with the lover. It is also possible for both parties to have separate lovers.

As kept Yuuri reading, the possibilities went on. He stared in awe at the pages. This was in a lot of ways like some of the things he'd rid in the book on Earth, but with different wording and more implications of duty.

He turned the page back to reread it when a shadow fell over him.

"Interesting subject, Heika."

Yuuri about jumped out of his shoes. Instead, he jumped out of the chair and hid the book behind his back (despite that the man had already seen it).

"I-it's for a school project!"

Conrad raised an eyebrow. Yuuri flushed.

"Uh, I thought it'd give me an idea for my report, to see the differences between here and there."

"I see. And what did you find out?"

Yuuri forced himself to calm down. Conrad was probably just teasing him.

"Well, it's fascinating really. Especially that Earth and Shin Makoku are actually quite similar, just the terms are different."

Conrad opened his mouth to reply, but Yuuri lost his nerves all at once and ran off, leaving the book on the chair as he fled.

***

Yuuri made himself do paperwork for the rest of the day in repentance for being a coward.

Why had he run off? He was supposed to be the reckless one, not the cowardly one. It was just that it was so hard to be around the other man when he couldn't stop thinking of…certain things, possibilities. He just didn't have a clear head at all lately.

He found himself wanting two people, and all he could think was that one probably saw him as a kid (Conrad) and the other might have already moved on, or was on his way (Yozak).

The next few days, Yuuri spent drowning in paperwork. He even made sure to take his time so that he wouldn't run out too fast.

He'd been surprised to see Murata sitting with Wolfram in the dining hall that morning. He hadn't seen Wolfram much since he'd broken the engagement off, but he seemed to be talking a little bit with Murata. Yuuri was so relieved that he'd left before Wolfram could spot him. He didn't want to ruin a good thing.

Conrad had seen him leave, and brought him a plate. It was nice of him. What was weird was that the man hadn't left immediately, but sat down and stared at him for a bit. When Yuuri had asked if anything was wrong, the man had replied in the negative.

After dinner that night, Yozak stopped him in the hallway before he could return to his office to do more work.

"Yo, Bocchan." Yuuri scowled at the nickname that he had never before been bothered by until now. Maybe Conrad wasn't the only one to see him as a kid. "Want to go on a camping trip with me?"

He looked at the other man in surprise. That wasn't what Yuuri had expected to hear. The last time they'd gone out, it had been for fishing. He was also surprised that Yozak felt up to spending time with him after Yuuri's rejection. Did that mean that the man really was over him already?

In any case, Yuuri did miss spending time with the man. Maybe being around him would make him see that even if he couldn't be with him, he could still be a close friend with him. Besides, Yuuri had been doing a lot of paperwork and felt like taking a break from it and the castle as a whole. You could always relax with Yozak.

"Okay, why not." Yuuri replied with a grin. Yozak returned it with a salute.

"We leave early, so get a good night's sleep! And don't forget to bring comfortable clothes."

Then he was gone, and Yuuri headed off to pack some clothes. Yozak would be bringing the fishing poles if they were going to be fishing. Yuuri also packed some swimming trunks just in case. The last time they'd gone, Yozak had actually pushed him in as a joke! Needless to say, Yuuri hadn't laughed.

What Yuuri didn't realize was that Conrad was going as well. He found out as he stepped out of the castle and found the man standing beside Yozak in the proper clothing to go camping in.

"Oh, didn't I tell you? Conrad's coming." Yozak said innocently, but Yuuri could tell it was fake, and scowled.

"That is, unless you don't want me to go, Heika. I just thought it'd be nice to go since we haven't been able to spend much time together lately."

Looking into Conrad's eyes, Yuuri could see that it was the truth. Conrad really did miss him. Yuuri felt guilty for somewhat avoiding him and being too distracted to hang out with him more.

"No, no! It's fine. We'll even have a competition to see who catches the biggest fish!" Yuuri pasted a big grin on his face. Then he purposefully set off in the general direction of where they were going to, and so missed the look that Conrad and Yozak shared behind his back.

"Uh, Bocchan, how about I lead?"

***

It took an hour to get to the clearing they would be settling down at, and Yuuri found himself surprisingly at ease with Conrad and Yozak on either side of him. As he enjoyed the sun warming his head and shoulders, and the wind and leaves rustling in his ears, he easily forgave Yozak for not telling (warning, but the orange-haired man wouldn't know that) him that Conrad would be coming.

They set up the tent, which was just big enough to fit the three, and built a fire pit. Then Conrad and Yuuri split up to collect wood.

Yozak brung out the fishing poles and bait, but Yuuri decided that he wanted to swim, so he changed in the tent into his swimming shorts.

When he came out, Conrad was sitting beside Yozak. Yuuri ran by him on his way to jumping into the water, yelling all the way until he landed in the water with a splash big enough to drown the land.

Indeed, when he popped his head up out of the water, Yozak was soaked. Yuuri rubbed the back of his head and called out an apology.

"Don't worry Bocchan, you'll get yours!"

Before Yuuri could ask what he meant, he was suddenly pulled straight down into the water by his feet. He was surprised enough to gasp and gulp in water, and swam to the top to cough it all out…but not before he saw Conrad's smirking face down below.

"Hey, that wasn't fair!" He called as soon as he could speak.

"Haven't you heard? All's fair in love and war. At least so says Günter's book that he's been quoting from all week," Yozak called back to him, smirking the same smirk Conrad had been.

As Conrad resurfaced, Yuuri went into immediate action, jumping onto the man's shoulders and sinking him. Conrad just laughed and lifted him up into the air, throwing him into the water.

They continued to play for a while longer, laughing and joking all the while, until he was suddenly grabbed from behind and held in place.

He looked up to see Yozak grinning down at him. The man winked, and then Conrad abruptly started tickling him.

Yuuri laughing until he was gasping for breath. He managed to get out a "Two on one, not fair!" before the tickling started coming from both sides, and he was too weak to struggle away even when freed from Yozak's hold.

They had to stop eventually though, when Yuuri could barely swim anymore as his body had turned into a limp noodle.

As they returned to the shore, he muttered (rather loudly), "I'll get you guys back, just wait and see…"

They settled down to catch their supper. Surprisingly, it was Yuuri who won even though he didn't fish often. It was probably because he was so fascinated by the different types of fish that he kept eagerly fishing for more until he got his big catch.

He still didn't consider it enough payback, though, and he let his friends know that they should expect more in the future.

…His friends.

This trip was only on the first day, and already he was having the time of his life. He didn't want to go back to the castle at all. He didn't want to go back to only seeing Yozak occasionally, and having to confine his relationship with Conrad to a box labeled "Rules & Regulations".

That night as they settled down to sleep, he wondered what living for nearly ever was like for Mazoku. Did they always stay with the one they loved, or did feelings change?

These thoughts wouldn't leave his mind, and he couldn't get comfortable. He was about ready to just get up and take a walk so that he didn't keep his companions awake, when a hand landed on his hip. Yuuri froze.

After a moment of holding his breath, he realized that it was okay, he wasn't actually panicking like he'd thought would happen. He was a little nervous – he had little to no experience in even this type of intimacy – but it was a comforting, soothing weight. Once he'd lost the tension in his body, a warm, sold weight settled against his back. That was even more comforting.

Yuuri finally let out a long, deep sigh and allowed himself to sleep – Conrad on one side, Yozak on the other.

The next morning when he awoke, Yuuri sensed the changed immediately. It wasn't anything you could see, but he felt it inside and in the atmosphere.

Yozak and Conrad were sitting up on either side of him. They were watching him with looks that almost spoke words themselves.

They said that they wanted Yuuri to talk to them.

Yuuri escaped with a muttered 'bathroom'.

As he relieved himself, he wondered if the two knew anything about what was wrong, or they just knew something was up.

Was this why they'd taken him on the trip? Was it a set-up?

Yuuri couldn't find it in himself to be angry at that moment. To be honest, he was getting to the point where it was hard to keep his feelings in. Like Yozak, he wanted to be truthful to himself.

Even if it meant getting rejected, maybe it was time he said the truth aloud.

That he loved Conrad and Yozak.

They were waiting for him in the same spot. Yuuri sat back in his own spot and started talking.

He started with how he had come to talk to Yozak about his changed feelings, and how he'd found him with Conrad. How he'd talked to Murata and tried to follow the advice, but then how Yozak had told him it was a 'friends with benefits' relationship that he had with Conrad.

He trailed off, unsure of how to start on the whole subject of his feelings for them both.

"Conrad told me he caught you reading something naughty?" Yozak teased, though Yuuri also sensed the man's seriousness.

"It wasn't naughty!" Yuuri protested. "Erm, mostly. I, uh. When I went to Earth the last time, I read a book similar to it, and it made me curious about Mazoku relationships. That's when I found the part on how engaged or married people can have lovers."

"Why were you curious about that in particular?" Conrad questioned, helping Yuuri along.

"Well, you see…even before Yozak came to me, I was starting to realize that I had feelings for another man. I didn't want to admit to myself that it wasn't just the love of a friend."

Conrad and Yozak were watching him intently now, waiting.

"It was Conrad." Yuuri rushed on as Conrad's eyes widened (he had to have known, why else would he be here?). "But I didn't think he thought of me as anything more than maybe a brother. And I thought that Yozak might be moving on, so I didn't want to mess things up between us." He admitted in a rush.

All was silent for a moment before Yozak spoke up. Conrad still seemed to be in a bit of shock.

"So you're saying…that you're in love with both of us?"

Having it said aloud like that made it so much more real than just thinking it. He ducked his head and nodded, once.

The orange-haired man abruptly reached forward and embraced him. Yuuri lost all tension and returned the embrace, and Yozak moved back slightly to look at him with an expression in his eyes that even an inexperienced Yuuri could recognize. His lips parted in surprise, and he turned to see Conrad's reaction.

He seemed frozen in spot, as if torn between moving and staying. Yuuri was worried that it was true that Conrad didn't see him that way, when Yozak whispered in his ear,

"Don't worry, he loves you. But he needs you to go to him, you see? He's noble like that."

Yuuri understand, and crawled on his hands and knees to the brown-haired man. Conrad's eyes scanned his face, darted to his lips. And that's when Yuuri kissed him.

It was clumsy and inexperienced, but it got the message across – "I love you, and I want you, and I certainly need you."

For all the previous hesitation, he was quick to respond now, giving his first of many lessons in kissing. Yozak moved up behind Yuuri and kissed his neck, making him shiver at the double sensations

When they pulled apart, Yuuri took a moment to get his bearings.

He had just kissed one of the men he loved. Was this a dream? He thought about pinching himself, but then remembered Murata telling him once that that was just a myth.

"Hey," Yozak said, and Yuuri turned to face him. "Do I get a ring too?"

Yuuri laughed and opened his mouth to respond, and then Yozak was kissing him. It was alike and yet different from his kiss with Conrad. It made him excited to explore this new world that he had discovered.

If this was anything like true love, then he finally understood why Cheri-sama acted the way she did.

He chuckled into the kiss at the thought, and in return, Yozak nipped his bottom lip. Yuuri gasped at the surprisingly pleasurable sensation, and drew away to breath.

"You can have as many rings as you want, if you'll do that again."

Then they were hands, many hands, everywhere, lowering him to the blankets and devouring him with lips and teeth and tongue.

If this was what forever was like, then Yuuri wanted it be with Conrad Weller and Yozak Gurrier for as long as forever could last for them.