The Art of Trust - kkm
The Art of Trust
rating:pg
warnings: slight angst, slight wolfram/yuuri, unbeta-ed
pairing: wolfram/yuuri
setting: just after yuuri "proposed" to wolfram
notes: sorry that the horse doesn't have "character" :P
The Art of Trust
"You want to go see the stables?" I ask him, asking sure I heard him correctly.
"Yeah," Yuuri smiles and it unsettles me. It's not malicious or manipulative or forced or anything I'm used to; it's just hard to look away from.
"Why?" I shake my head. I don't understand, stables are stables. Horses are horses.
"I haven't really ever been around horses. I just want to see them, maybe pet one. Learn about it. How many opportunities-"
"Okay, fine, " I snap to get him to be quiet. Honestly, I don't understand how simple and common he can be at times. He has a palace, riches, gourmet food...and he wants to see horses.
He smiles again and I can feel my heartbeat a little faster. Just a little, not a big deal. He is my fiance, after all, and I should be getting used to the idea. It's not like I love him or even like him, but it's an honor and I'm not about to let the chance pass. I'd be a fool to refuse.
The walk there is surprisingly quieter. Instead of rambling on, he just glances around, grinning, with the sun on his face. I find myself ignoring the grounds, the sun, the flowers and beautiful day and watching him watching it. Just the way his dark, dark eyes slowly turn, raking everything in silently, it's different. I'm not used to observing other people. I've noticed so many people studying my every move, for so many various reasons, but I've never been content just being with someone else and really seeing them react to the world.
Then he turns and smiles wider at me and it's all funny, the air, the ground, the sun. All feeling so funny and dizzying.
"You okay, Wolfram?" he asks, his lips lightly frowning.
"Yeah," I rub my head, "Just...the sun, it got in my eyes. I'm fine now."
I meant to call him a wimp, but it just doesn't fit right on my lips, so I drop. We continue walking, but I realize I'm walking just a little closer to him without meaning to...
"So, these are the stables," I announce when we're there.
"Wow!" he exclaims, some reason giddy, "They're huge! There must be so many horses."
"Yes, this is my division's stables, along with my horse."
"Can we see him?"
He really can be so simple sometimes.
"Sure," I sigh, not understanding the excitement of seeing someone else's horse.
"I want to pet him-"
"Her," I correct him and add flatly, "And you can't pet her."
He stumbles and looks crestfallen, "Why?"
"She's a war horse," I explain as we walk in, staff already greeting us and bowing respectfully, with the few soldiers saluting to me.
Yuuri makes sure to acknowledge each person before responding, "Yeah, but..."
"She's not trained to be a horse like how you think," I feel like I'm instructing a child, "She's been trained since she was young. She's not a pet, she's a mode of transportation and a weapon. She's not meant to like everyone."
The way he he glances at me is odd. It's not disappointed or angry or even sad, it's like I'm missing the picture, like I'm the one who can't understand.
I snort and say, "What?"
"Where is she?"
I lead him to her stall. I like her, I"ve always been proud of her. She's strong and has good lineage. She's stubborn like me, but will listen only to me. Trained well, she doesn't let anyone touch her or treat her wrongly.
"She's beautiful," he breathes and almost puts his hand on the rail of the stall.
I grab it.
"Wolfram?" he squeaks, startled.
It feels good, holding his hand. And I don't know how exactly to feel about that. I know it's a crush...or maybe it's not. Maybe I'm just acting the way I think I should be acting...since we're going to be married one day and I'll have to...
I drop his hand, roughly, with a scowl.
"She'll bite you," I explain, condescendingly because he hasn't listen to me.
"I don't know," he softly smirks, as if to himself, and turns back to her, "I didn't even give her a chance."
Is he that daft? Is he that foolish? What have we gotten ourselves into? How can we have a king this...DENSE?!
"Give her a chance?!" I rage, "She'll chew off your hand before-"
"Wolfram," he crisply interjects with a tone that stops my tirade, "How can I judge anything without giving it a chance?"
"Yuuri, she's been trained to-"
"So," he stops me with a sad smile, "someone who has been told one thing all their lives can't change?"
He shakes his head, "I can't believe that. I think that someone can change when the time is right, when they know they want to. And I shouldn't assume anything until I give them that chance."
"Then you'll end up dead!" I emphasize the danger to shock him into understanding his stupidity.
But instead, he holds out his hand in her stall. I'm beside myself.
I reach out again, but his other hand takes mine and he grins widely and says so openly, "Trust me."
Trust him? How can I? He flops into my life, creating such a huge swell of hope and promise, and if he can't do this, if he can't live up to all the hype...
I don't think I can. I don't think I can just let him in that easily.
I'm about to pull away, tug my hand from his, but then my horse moves closer.
"Yuuri?" I ask, getting alarmed. He's going to get bit and it's not a simple bite, I've seen men crippled from it.
"It's okay," he assures me, holding it out still, without flinching.
"You've made your point!" I beg him as her long, cold face approaches slowly, like accessing the situation.
But he doesn't react.
She smells him, breathing around his hand, turning her head to watch him and then...
that's it.
No bite, no anger, no lashing out.
He smiles so widely, it must hurt and he leans forward, gently touching her neck.
"You're a good horse," he tells her, "You've done a good job protecting Wolfram."
I blink at him, at a loss of words. I've never talked to my horse, she's a horse, a tool...but here he was, petting her like a pony and complimenting her.
"She may have been trained to act a certain way, but," he tells me, turning his face, close to mine that my heart fumbles, "just like people, you may be told to do something, but it's not the way you have to be forever. People can change. She can, too."
He takes my hand and carefully puts it on her neck to pet. I've touched her before, but not like this...and I can tell she knows it, too, by watching me closer than him, like she doesn't know what to make of it...like she's just figuring out that people can change, too.
"What's her name?" he asks, petting her neck and shoulder, his hand close to mine.
"Adalgisa," I reply, but it sounds unfamiliar to my ears. I don't really call her that very much and suddenly, I feel very ashamed.
He laughs, though and confesses, "That's a long name, it's hard."
"It's a nice name," I say, defensively.
"Yeah," he nods, "It is."
Slowly, I rub her, moving over, gathering my courage. I like him, I have to begrudgingly admit, and the more I don't want to, the more I do. I don't know what to do, I'm not used to this. I don't even really know how he feels, but I can't stop being attracted to him. And not his looks or the novelty of him, of never seeing anything like him, or his title...just being like this.
Gingerly, I keep moving my hand until it covers his own.
He sharply inhales and we both stop petting. I want this. I don't know if I can ever be in love with him, it's so soon, but...I want this, to touch him, like this.
"Wolfram," he chokes out, awkwardly, and I move again, pet my horse again with another word.
There's a few minutes, stretched so tightly in silence, that pass. I think back at what I could have done wrong. Was it really just a mistake? Did he truly not want me as a lover? I thought that he possibly...maybe..felt...
So lightly, his hands rests on mine and I struggle to swallow, my heart is racing.
"Wolfram, I don't think," he pauses, thinking it out, "Everything is so different and-"
"It fine," I cut him off so he doesn't have to do this, not now, but his hand is heavier on mine.
It would be so perfect if he leaned over and kissed me. I would let him, I would grow hungrier, I would hold him close and give him a reason to never look at any other man or woman again.
But life isn't perfect; his hand slides off mine, his fingertips running over my knuckles before he continues to pet her. And although it isn't perfect, my heart swells at the thought that, at least, it's changing.
The End - 1550 approx
rating:pg
warnings: slight angst, slight wolfram/yuuri, unbeta-ed
pairing: wolfram/yuuri
setting: just after yuuri "proposed" to wolfram
notes: sorry that the horse doesn't have "character" :P
The Art of Trust
"You want to go see the stables?" I ask him, asking sure I heard him correctly.
"Yeah," Yuuri smiles and it unsettles me. It's not malicious or manipulative or forced or anything I'm used to; it's just hard to look away from.
"Why?" I shake my head. I don't understand, stables are stables. Horses are horses.
"I haven't really ever been around horses. I just want to see them, maybe pet one. Learn about it. How many opportunities-"
"Okay, fine, " I snap to get him to be quiet. Honestly, I don't understand how simple and common he can be at times. He has a palace, riches, gourmet food...and he wants to see horses.
He smiles again and I can feel my heartbeat a little faster. Just a little, not a big deal. He is my fiance, after all, and I should be getting used to the idea. It's not like I love him or even like him, but it's an honor and I'm not about to let the chance pass. I'd be a fool to refuse.
The walk there is surprisingly quieter. Instead of rambling on, he just glances around, grinning, with the sun on his face. I find myself ignoring the grounds, the sun, the flowers and beautiful day and watching him watching it. Just the way his dark, dark eyes slowly turn, raking everything in silently, it's different. I'm not used to observing other people. I've noticed so many people studying my every move, for so many various reasons, but I've never been content just being with someone else and really seeing them react to the world.
Then he turns and smiles wider at me and it's all funny, the air, the ground, the sun. All feeling so funny and dizzying.
"You okay, Wolfram?" he asks, his lips lightly frowning.
"Yeah," I rub my head, "Just...the sun, it got in my eyes. I'm fine now."
I meant to call him a wimp, but it just doesn't fit right on my lips, so I drop. We continue walking, but I realize I'm walking just a little closer to him without meaning to...
"So, these are the stables," I announce when we're there.
"Wow!" he exclaims, some reason giddy, "They're huge! There must be so many horses."
"Yes, this is my division's stables, along with my horse."
"Can we see him?"
He really can be so simple sometimes.
"Sure," I sigh, not understanding the excitement of seeing someone else's horse.
"I want to pet him-"
"Her," I correct him and add flatly, "And you can't pet her."
He stumbles and looks crestfallen, "Why?"
"She's a war horse," I explain as we walk in, staff already greeting us and bowing respectfully, with the few soldiers saluting to me.
Yuuri makes sure to acknowledge each person before responding, "Yeah, but..."
"She's not trained to be a horse like how you think," I feel like I'm instructing a child, "She's been trained since she was young. She's not a pet, she's a mode of transportation and a weapon. She's not meant to like everyone."
The way he he glances at me is odd. It's not disappointed or angry or even sad, it's like I'm missing the picture, like I'm the one who can't understand.
I snort and say, "What?"
"Where is she?"
I lead him to her stall. I like her, I"ve always been proud of her. She's strong and has good lineage. She's stubborn like me, but will listen only to me. Trained well, she doesn't let anyone touch her or treat her wrongly.
"She's beautiful," he breathes and almost puts his hand on the rail of the stall.
I grab it.
"Wolfram?" he squeaks, startled.
It feels good, holding his hand. And I don't know how exactly to feel about that. I know it's a crush...or maybe it's not. Maybe I'm just acting the way I think I should be acting...since we're going to be married one day and I'll have to...
I drop his hand, roughly, with a scowl.
"She'll bite you," I explain, condescendingly because he hasn't listen to me.
"I don't know," he softly smirks, as if to himself, and turns back to her, "I didn't even give her a chance."
Is he that daft? Is he that foolish? What have we gotten ourselves into? How can we have a king this...DENSE?!
"Give her a chance?!" I rage, "She'll chew off your hand before-"
"Wolfram," he crisply interjects with a tone that stops my tirade, "How can I judge anything without giving it a chance?"
"Yuuri, she's been trained to-"
"So," he stops me with a sad smile, "someone who has been told one thing all their lives can't change?"
He shakes his head, "I can't believe that. I think that someone can change when the time is right, when they know they want to. And I shouldn't assume anything until I give them that chance."
"Then you'll end up dead!" I emphasize the danger to shock him into understanding his stupidity.
But instead, he holds out his hand in her stall. I'm beside myself.
I reach out again, but his other hand takes mine and he grins widely and says so openly, "Trust me."
Trust him? How can I? He flops into my life, creating such a huge swell of hope and promise, and if he can't do this, if he can't live up to all the hype...
I don't think I can. I don't think I can just let him in that easily.
I'm about to pull away, tug my hand from his, but then my horse moves closer.
"Yuuri?" I ask, getting alarmed. He's going to get bit and it's not a simple bite, I've seen men crippled from it.
"It's okay," he assures me, holding it out still, without flinching.
"You've made your point!" I beg him as her long, cold face approaches slowly, like accessing the situation.
But he doesn't react.
She smells him, breathing around his hand, turning her head to watch him and then...
that's it.
No bite, no anger, no lashing out.
He smiles so widely, it must hurt and he leans forward, gently touching her neck.
"You're a good horse," he tells her, "You've done a good job protecting Wolfram."
I blink at him, at a loss of words. I've never talked to my horse, she's a horse, a tool...but here he was, petting her like a pony and complimenting her.
"She may have been trained to act a certain way, but," he tells me, turning his face, close to mine that my heart fumbles, "just like people, you may be told to do something, but it's not the way you have to be forever. People can change. She can, too."
He takes my hand and carefully puts it on her neck to pet. I've touched her before, but not like this...and I can tell she knows it, too, by watching me closer than him, like she doesn't know what to make of it...like she's just figuring out that people can change, too.
"What's her name?" he asks, petting her neck and shoulder, his hand close to mine.
"Adalgisa," I reply, but it sounds unfamiliar to my ears. I don't really call her that very much and suddenly, I feel very ashamed.
He laughs, though and confesses, "That's a long name, it's hard."
"It's a nice name," I say, defensively.
"Yeah," he nods, "It is."
Slowly, I rub her, moving over, gathering my courage. I like him, I have to begrudgingly admit, and the more I don't want to, the more I do. I don't know what to do, I'm not used to this. I don't even really know how he feels, but I can't stop being attracted to him. And not his looks or the novelty of him, of never seeing anything like him, or his title...just being like this.
Gingerly, I keep moving my hand until it covers his own.
He sharply inhales and we both stop petting. I want this. I don't know if I can ever be in love with him, it's so soon, but...I want this, to touch him, like this.
"Wolfram," he chokes out, awkwardly, and I move again, pet my horse again with another word.
There's a few minutes, stretched so tightly in silence, that pass. I think back at what I could have done wrong. Was it really just a mistake? Did he truly not want me as a lover? I thought that he possibly...maybe..felt...
So lightly, his hands rests on mine and I struggle to swallow, my heart is racing.
"Wolfram, I don't think," he pauses, thinking it out, "Everything is so different and-"
"It fine," I cut him off so he doesn't have to do this, not now, but his hand is heavier on mine.
It would be so perfect if he leaned over and kissed me. I would let him, I would grow hungrier, I would hold him close and give him a reason to never look at any other man or woman again.
But life isn't perfect; his hand slides off mine, his fingertips running over my knuckles before he continues to pet her. And although it isn't perfect, my heart swells at the thought that, at least, it's changing.
The End - 1550 approx