Title: Lessons in Dipping
Author:
worblehatGenre: Kyou Kara Maou
Characters: Konrad, Wolfram, Yuuri
Rating: PG
Notes: Yes, I spell it with a K. Also, written for the
AWDT. Written kinda late at night, so it might not make sense, but I wrote it anyway.
Prompt: "I don't want to dance."
Word Count: 833
"Why do I have to learn this?" asked Yuuri, frowning when Wolfram pressed hands to hips. He tried to pull away, sighing when Wolfram's grip on his shoulder tightened warningly.
"We're supposed to dance the first dance," said Wolfram, taking Yuuri's hand and beginning to count in beats of four. Yuuri tried to follow him with little success. "Stand straighter, you wimp."
"How many times do I have to tell you to stop calling me that?" said Yuuri irritably, looking up to glare at Wolfram; eyes going wide when he spotted Konrad standing in the wide doorway to the dance hall in which they were practicing. Wolfram swore as Yuuri accidentally stepped on his foot, muttering angrily when Yuuri didn't bother to apologise.
"Konrad!" Yuuri said cheerfully, pulling on the sleeve of his uniform. "Help me," he added more quietly.
"I can hear you," said Wolfram.
A pained look crossed Yuuri's face.
"Dancing's not that bad," said Konrad matter-of-factly. "You just need to pick up the rhythm."
"You say that like it's easy," Yuuri pouted. He didn't want to do this stupid dance in the first place; dancing with Wolfram, in front of everyone...he could think of seven different painful things he'd rather experience than a crowd clapping as he romantically dipped his fiancé.
"Don't concentrate so hard," said Konrad. He looked down at Yuuri, considering him for a few moments before reaching for his hand. Yuuri blinked at the hand on his shoulders and the way Konrad's hips seemed to lead, solid but with just the slightest bit of sway.
"See?" said Konrad, eyes shining.
"Yeah..." Yuuri replied, wincing when he spotted Wolfram glaring at them.
"That's enough, Konrad - he gets it now!" Wolfram yelled, pulling them apart.
"Well," Yuuri interrupted, "...I don't know how to do that thing at the end."
"The dip?" asked Konrad.
Yuuri nodded.
"It's simple enough," he said, reaching quietly for Yuuri; he looked at Wolfram with a mix of amusement and pain as his hand was smacked away. "I'll use him to demonstrate," he said as he led Wolfram a few feet away, counting off for two seconds before he began leading, Wolfram struggling a little to keep up with his rhythm. Yuuri watched their feet, which moved back, sideways, and then Wolfram was turning, landing gently in Konrad's arms.
"See?" asked Konrad, pausing to look down at his younger brother, whose hand was outstretched elegantly, eyes closed for dramatic effect.
"I...no," said Yuuri apologetically. "I was looking at your feet that time."
"Huh?!" asked Wolfram, standing abruptly. "How could you not be paying attention? You're supposed to know this by tomorrow night!"
"I know, I know!" said Yuuri, the panic he'd been subsiding returning in full force. "Just...show me one more time. Please?"
Konrad smiled and held out his hands to Wolfram, who muttered something that included the words "wimp" and "or else." Yuuri struggled to keep his eyes open as they danced.
One, two, three, four...
*
"Yuuri." Konrad's voice was soft as Yuuri struggled to open his eyes. "It's almost time for dinner."
"Huh?" asked Yuuri. "But we just ate."
Konrad smiled. "That was earlier in the day."
"Really?" Yuuri looked out the window, up at the twilight sky. "Wow." He looked around. "Where's Wolfram?"
"He left when he realised you'd fallen asleep."
Great, thought Yuuri, already beginning to cringe at the angry face he knew would be glaring at him through dinner. He looked up at Konrad. "Sorry," he said sheepishly. "I guess I'm a little nervous about tomorrow's ceremony."
"You'll do fine," said Konrad, tone assured and quiet. When Yuuri continued to look at the ground in dismay, Konrad leaned in closer, ruffling his hair. Yuuri looked up, eyes wide; Konrad stared, his eyes alighting with indecision for a few seconds as his head bent low - stopping at Yuuri's forehead, pressing a barely-there kiss to the warm skin.
He didn't say anything as he walked away.
*
"Like this?" asked Yuuri, eyes focused on Wolfram's face as he tried for the twelfth time to get the dipping angle right.
"Don't make your hold so loose," Wolfram scolded him.
Yuuri hung on more tightly, trying the dip again. He looked at Wolfram triumphantly. "There! How was that?"
Wolfram's glare softened; he placed the dried rose in his hands between his teeth, leaning back and to stretch out one arm. His cheeks were flushed as Yuuri pulled him close, to a standing position - the way he'd seen Konrad and wolfram practicing before he'd fallen asleep.
"Well?" Yuuri prompted.
"It was okay," Wolfram admitted. "At least you didn't step on me this time."
"Okay?" Yuuri repeated. He frowned. "Fine. I'm going to bed then."
Three minutes later, Yuuri was unsurprised to feel a body slipping behind him on the bed; too tired to argue when slim hands slid around his waist, soft breaths soothing his nerves as he fell into dreamless sleep.