"You're an idiot, you know that?"

"What?"

"You're an idiot. Two years, that's how long you've known him. That's how long you've been engaged. How you haven't realized you're in love with him yet, I don't know. Your emotions are so painfully obvious to everyone here, honestly, the love lottery has enough on your and Wolfram's relationship to buy Japan."

"Where's this coming from all of a sudden?!"

"Do you know how frustrating it is for everyone to watch you guys interact? Wolfram, following you around like a lost puppy and spouting declarations fit for a schoolgirl, and you, oblivious to how wide you're smiling back at him. You've fallen so hard, you have a concussion."

"Fallen? Me? In… in l-love with… with Wolfram? No, absolutely not, that is not what's going on. We're just friends. Good friends. Who happen to be engaged due to a cultural accident."

"Fine. You're not in love. What do I know? I've only been alive four thousand years."

"Murata…"

"Let's put it this way. Do you enjoy his company?"

"...Yes? Of course, I do. How could I not when he never leaves me alone?"

"Is he your closest confidant, someone that you can talk to about virtually everything? Do you enjoy listening to him talk? Does it make you happy when he's happy? When he's unhappy, do you feel the need to find and destroy the thing that's making him cry? When you're having an argument, are you frustrated about tiny little things that wouldn't bother you if it was someone else who did them? Does his anger make you feel both extremely guilty and slightly, unreasonably relieved, even if you know you did absolutely nothing wrong?"

"I-"

"Is he not the most beautiful person you have ever seen? Have you ever thought that he's graceful when letting go completely in combat? Not just cosmetically, I mean even when he's bleeding, and tired, and sweaty and irritable, does it still seem like there could never be anyone as beautiful as he?"

"Well, obviously, I have eyes, that doesn't mean I lo-"

"When he's gone, or when you're on earth, are you constantly thinking about him, what he might be doing, how he might be feeling, whether or not he's thinking of you, when the next time you'll meet is?

Would you die for him? Would you sacrifice the wellbeing of the entire country if it meant saving him, and seeing his smile one more time? Do you find yourself smiling for no reason while you're with him?"

"I don't- Hold on!"

"No! Listen. To. Me. There are things I know about you that you probably don't know about yourself. What about when Soshu stole his heart? That hurt, right? Like it was your heart that got ripped out. And you, you knew that he was waiting for you to save him. So you ran. You ran through the castle, satisfied with your decision, and you bumped into Conrad, and you called him 'brother'. You don't even call Shouri that. And, when you were battling Soshu, all you were thinking about was saving him. Saving Wolfram. At the same time though, you were thinking about how much he would dislike you thinking of him as weak. So you never told him. And then, you had to leave.

You had to leave and go home, possibly forever. You thought you could never come back ever again. You said goodbye to everyone, giving each person an individual farewell. Except for him. And when you turned your back, and he called to you, you didn't turn around. And that wasn't cuz you didn't hear him. You stopped. You were going to turn around. You wanted to, really, really badly.

You can't pretend, Yuuri! I was standing next to you, and I could see the tears welling up in your eyes, and I could hear the crack in your voice when you said 'goodbye'. You didn't turn around, 'cuz you knew if you did, you would not be able to leave. If you saw his face, you wouldn't be able to stop yourself from staying, and you knew it. He was the one who told you to leave. But if he asked you to stay, you would have. And you know he wanted you to. So, even though you gave everyone a long and heartfelt goodbye, to the person who matters the most, all you could say was that. 'Goodbye'."

"How could you possibly know all that?"

"Shinou may have been weak, and 'dead', but his presence was still there, in the air. He could sense your thoughts. Hell, so could I. He told me about your actions before you left the castle the moment we got back."

"Okay, I get it, but... come on. Who wouldn't be heartbroken if their best friend died? If you died, I'm sure I'd cry. I'm sure I'd try to save you. When Conrad was in Big Shimaron, I did all that was in my power to get him back, didn't I? That's just how you act with friends. But... you're right."

"About what?"

"I feel... content- happy, even, when I'm with him. I've caught myself on more than one occasion, especially when we're playing with Greta, thinking that we were like a perfect family."

"Oh, Shibuya. Was that so hard?"

"Shut up. I never said it."

"Never said what?"

"Wolfram?! How… how long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough to know that a wimp like you forgot all about his promise to play hide and seek with his daughter and his fiance at lunch today."

"Oh crap, I completely forgot! Sorry, Wolf, I'll, um, I'll make it up to you? Could you do me a favor? Could you just tell Greta that I was swamped with work? I don't want her to think I forgot about her."

"You're lucky you're a king, or else I would skin you alive. and I'm not going to lie to our daughter just because her other father is an idiot. Pay attention to the time okay? Geeze, it's not too much to ask."

"Yeah. Sorry. I know. I'm an idiot."

"Damn right you are. Now come on, let's go. There's still an hour before you have to officially go back to work, and I think an hour is just enough time to make it up to me."

"Picnic? Can I come?"

"No."

" Aww, that's adorable, I love it when you speak at the same time."

"Shut up Murata."