The library of the Blood Pledge Castle was quiet; the only sounds that could be heard were coming from outside as one of the windows was open. It was early in the afternoon, but the single occupant of the room didn't really notice what time it was.

Günter was standing by the open window and looking outside. The garden looked absolutely beautiful in the sunlight, not that he had been aware of the fact. His mind was elsewhere, far away from the library.

Why do I have the feeling that something isn't right? He thought, idly studying the view without actually paying any attention to it. Oh, your Majesty... Are you safe? Conrad did assure me it's just a riding trip, but... He shook his head. What if...? You're not an experienced rider; you might fall. Or maybe... no, both Conrad and Wolfram are with you; no one is going to try anything. Unless...

He turned, walked to the desk where he had been reading earlier and sat down. An open book was lying on the desk, but he didn't really have a clue what it was about anymore. He had the vague idea it had something to do with politics, but he couldn't really remember why he had chosen it. He read a couple of paragraphs before his mind wandered off again and the book was forgotten.

Wolfram... he seems to be following you around quite a lot, your Highness. But that's completely understandable, I suppose... or is it? It's just because he's your fiancé. It's natural that he wants to make sure that you're safe. Ugh, I need to stop thinking about such things... Gwendal says I worry too much. Do I?

He sighed and stared at the book in front of him. Maybe I do... but...

All these pointless questions that had the simplest answers, and yet he couldn't stop asking himself if he had missed some little detail and Yuuri was somehow in grave danger because of it. He soon gave up pretending to read, stood up again and returned to the window.

Günter failed to notice that someone had entered the library; Gwendal had been standing at the door for a couple of minutes now. He knew there was no one but Günter in the library at the moment, and that suited him just fine - he wanted to have a few words with the other man. Of course, he had been planning on saying something right away after coming here, but the sight of Günter leaning on the windowsill and staring in the distance had stopped him. The other man looked so beautiful...

He mentally slapped himself, stepped inside and closed the door behind him. "Günter?"

The purple-haired man spun around, startled. "Oh... Gwendal. I didn't... When did you...?"

"A moment ago. You seemed to be too lost in thought to notice anything," Gwendal replied to the question Günter was trying to ask. He walked where the other man was and glanced outside. "Something interesting out there?"

"No, I was just..." Günter began.

"...Thinking about his Majesty," The dark-haired man finished the sentence for him. "What is it about this time?"

Günter turned away from him and let his gaze wander across the garden. "Nothing really. I was just thinking, that's all."

"Hmm." Gwendal stayed silent for a while, observing the other man. Yes, he could easily tell what Günter had been thinking about; it was not like he ever thought about anything else these days, which rather annoyed Gwendal right now.

"Never mind. He went riding with my brothers, am I correct? They'll be back before dinner. Nothing there to worry about, so you could just as well do something useful."

"What do you mean by that? I was..." Günter nodded at his book. "I was doing research. Or are you saying that..."

"I'm saying that you're wasting your time," Gwendal interrupted. "Also, you're wasting my time."

Günter looked a little puzzled when hearing that, but the other man wasn't finished yet. "I could be working, you know. But I'm not. Do you know why? Because I happen to know my lover is wasting his time thinking about someone else."

Gwendal caught himself right after saying that, but he couldn't help it anymore; the tone of his voice had not been what he meant it to be. He cursed in his mind but realized that Günter was about to say something, so he quickly continued. "Truly, do you really have to worry about Yuuri so much? Once again, you fail to... think about yourself, or..."

"Gwendal, I..." Günter stared at the other man, not really sure what to say. He hadn't expected hearing that from Gwendal, if for nothing else then just for the fact that it simply wasn't the other man's style to say such things. "I didn't..."

"Forget it. But..." Gwendal looked the other man straight in the eyes. "But, I would say you could stop worrying for a moment and just relax. I wouldn't want you to wear yourself down by constantly worrying, you know."

"I'm not... constantly worrying!" The purple-haired man shouted at him, looking frustrated. The feeling faded rather quickly, though, and he looked away. "Just... all right, maybe I do that sometimes. Still, it's not like I didn't do anything else. I mean..."

"If you say so." Gwendal turned and walked to the door, then stopped and looked at the other man. "Still, you're still ignoring everything else again. Like us."

Günter didn't reply right away. He had to admit he didn't think about... certain things too often. It had been over a week since he had been alone with Gwendal - or rather, somewhere private with Gwendal. He looked down, reminded of the fact that while he did have feelings for Gwendal, he was quite excellent at ignoring them.

"Gwendal... I'm sorry. I didn't think you would care."

Well, I suppose I can blame myself for not reminding you earlier then, Gwendal thought to himself. You're so clueless sometimes, Günter.

He managed to keep a calm look on his face despite of the fact that he felt an odd need to smile. He took a short moment to gather his thoughts and made sure Günter was looking at him before he said anything.

"Well, now you know that I obviously do care. Anyway... my room tonight. And that's not a request, that's an order." With that, Gwendal left the library.

Günter stared at the door, not sure what he was supposed to think. He felt like he should have said something, but Gwendal had not exactly given him the opportunity to do so. Besides, what was there to say? Nothing he could think of was convincing enough.

"An order? Since when were you in any position to order me around like that?" He finally mumbled at the door, almost sounding annoyed. His mind quickly reminded him of something, and he sighed.

Well in theory after I... after we... Gwendal...

He closed his eyes for a moment and smiled, then returned to his seat and picked up the book again.

Author's notes:

I actually have no idea what the library in the castle is like - and if it really has a view to the garden - but hey, this is a damn fanfic. You can always pretend it's a random study room if the library isn't like that... ...Yes I'm a detail whore, thank you for noticing. Hehe. Also, I suck at naming fics, but most people already knew that.

- Elmina (May, 2005)