Kyou Kara Maou : The Pirate Wedding

Summary: Wolfram and Yuuri's second wedding attempt is waylaid by pirates. But – might they still get a child as a wedding gift? Sequel to any of my KKM fanfics so far.

Disclaimer: I have no rights to Kyou Kara Maou, of course.

Prequels: though they're interrelated story arcs, you don't need to read any of my other KKM fanfics before this one. Things I won't explain here: Wolfram's father Manfred is alive. Wolfram and Yuuri got together physically years before this story.

Please review.

Note: There are illustrations for this story. Please click the "homepage" link on my author's profile to see portraits of the OC's, etc.

Chapter 1 : Demon Gift

Yuuri's smile was so broad and bright, it was due to crack any moment now. He stood on the pier as sailors finished securing the river barge, arrived with yet more wedding guests, down the broad Donza River – from Bielenfeld and Gratz, to be exact. The Gratz contingent didn't worry him – Lord Brendan von Gratz was a mild man somewhat younger than Gwendal, similar to his brother Adelbert in appearance only.

The in-laws from Bielenfeld were another story. Wolfram's demon father himself, healer Professor Manfred von Bielenfeld, a young near-clone to Wolfram, hobbled into view on his cane, with assorted women, a half-dozen blond men, and… Yuri started counting blond children in alarm. "Ah, Wolfram… you never mentioned, just how manyhalf-siblings von Bielenfeld do you have?"

"None, of course. Chichiue could only acknowledge one bastard as his heir. I'm his only son von Bielenfeld. Took him a decade to manage that – Great-Uncle Friedrich hates Hahaue."

"That's not what I meant –"

But Wolfram had already strode forward, waving and calling greetings to his relatives. He leapt up the gangplank and hugged his father tight. "Chichiue! Thanks so much for coming! Cousin Brendan! Great-Uncle Friedrich! Grandma! Great-Aunt Sophie! Cousin Aldrich! Otoutou Efram!" Each duly greeted family member was shooed off to disembark. After Efram, the only one of the children taller than his waist, Wolfram stalled a bit on the names. Manfred introduced him to a few married couples riding herd on assorted children, perhaps a third of them Manfred's. "…Mare and my daughter Moira… And this is Dierdra." The lack of child associated with Dierdra was explained by her vastly advanced pregnancy.

Wolfram smiled and took her hand, like all the others, "Pleased to meet you. Welcome to the family, Dierdra." Warm politeness couldn't hurt, and might compensate for forgeting all their names within the hour. Mare helped her down the gangplank while little Moira skipped around their feet, doing her best to trip them.

Introductions dispensed with, Manfred and Wolfram were left alone to visit at the railing. Yuuri was at the bottom of the gangplank greeting this deluge of in-laws, taken under wing by the sisters Phoebe von Bielenfeld and Sophie von Gratz, mothers to Manfred and Adelbert respectively – women who hadn't stopped talking in as long as anyone could remember. Introductions Manfred boiled down to three words, they expanded to full geneologies with anecdotes. The Lords had escaped quickly up the hill. Heir Aldrich, the rare Bielenfeld devoid of racial prejudice, detested Yuuri on political grounds. He stayed to egg the sisters on.

Manfred grinned at the tableau. "So, Wolfram. You both look… stressed. How is your dark and handsome groom, then? Does he deserve to be rescued quickly?"

"Not yet. Twit." Wolfram consigned Yuuri to the harridans. "I kicked him out to sleep with Greta a week ago. You wouldn't believe what he –" Manfred cut him off with a hand in the air. Wolfram stopped that train of thought, but in a moment renewed his whining with, "My wedding's supposed to be the happiest day of my life, and the last attempt got blown up by that Dai Cimarron invasion –"

Manfred cut him off with a chopping gesture at the neck. "Ah, pretty vixen, weddings are for the guests, not the marrying couple. If you wanted a happy wedding, you should have eloped. Imagine all this energy invested in a honeymoon instead, eh?"

Wolfram snorted. "Kings can't elope… Günter would just make us do it over again right when we got back. How is Efram, anyway? I tried not to get Greta's hopes up about meeting all these midget aunts and uncles…"

Wolfram felt twinges of guilt. Below, Efram, in Wolfram's absense the de facto leader of the half-sibling/cousin horde, had siphoned the next largest two out of the crowd. They were whispering and plotting behind Yuuri, a true believer in the innocent goodness of children. Wolfram, in contrast, recognized a near-clone in Efram – not much taller than Greta perhaps, but an adolescent over twice Yuuri's age, with probably half again Yuuri's IQ, and up to something.

"They're fine," opined Manfred. "We can stop it before anyone's hurt. Probably. Where are Cecilie and Yuuri's parents?"

"Hahaue sailed for Carolia to pick up Flurin and the other guests. Yuuri's family decided to tag along sightseeing. Giesela, too – she worked at rebuilding their town for a month after one of Yuuri's screwups, so she has lots of friends there. They expect to be back tomorrow. Mama-Miko and Otousan are eager to meet you." Yuuri's parents and Manfred hadn't arrived before the last wedding blew up, so they had yet to meet. Yuuri was dreading the event. Wolfram was sure Miko and Manfred would get along famously, and Yuuri's father had the good sense to hide behind his wife.

"And I'm eager to meet them. Ah, Wolfram, about Dierdra… She doesn't want to raise the son when he's born. Efram's mother is her sister – both brilliant women – she's willing to take the baby. But, you once joked about adopting a child of mine and Cecilie's. This boy is only mine, but, I was wondering, if you wanted…"

Wolframs eyes grew wide, and he threw his arms around his father in glee. "Oh, Chichiue! Oh, I can't wait to tell Yuuri! Really? You really think she would let us adopt her baby? Oh, by Shinou, what a wedding present! Thank you!"

Manfred smiled, honestly delighted and fighting a losing battle to hide it. "You will raise him as a BOY, you understand? And… as your son, not mine." Father and son nodded agreement, putting their foreheads together for a moment. Manfred caught a movement out of the corner of his eye, though. "Efram –"

Wolfram wheeled ready to cast a fire curtain around them, but Phoebe and Sophie had already wind-blasted all three miscreants into the harbor. The girl's stepfather lay down on the pier and hauled them up. Two he passed to his wife for spanking. Efram was left to await his father. "Shall we?" sighed Manfred, and they headed down the gangplank.

Wolfram put arms around Phoebe and Sophie and let them continue their introductions – as though anyone could stop them – on the hoof, as they headed up to the castle. Yuuri nodded and smiled and nodded, and every once in a while, cast a worried glance over his shoulder at Manfred and Efram. Though Efram was thoroughly chewed out to start with, soon father and son were sharing eerily familiar beautiful evil green demon smiles.

-oOo-

"I can't believe this! You're a racist!" Wolfram hurled a knitted stuffed animal at Yuuri, back in their bedroom.

"You're twisting what I'm saying!" protested Yuuri. "We have to raise children as our children, not your children versus my children! And yes, I'm not sure about raising a full Mazoku baby…"

"Yuuri, I'm a full Mazoku! And in case it slipped your mind, you're Maou of a nation of Mazoku! You can rule a country of demons, but not raise a baby demon? What the hell are you saying!"

"I'm saying I see Efram and I'm not sure… I'm up to this. Come on, please, Wolfram, I'm really not sure I can handle this."

"Up to what? Handle what? Efram's my brother — he's a perfectly normal boy!"

Just then, a movement in the corner behind the curtains caught his attention. Wolfram's sword, unfortunately, was on a chair, sticking through both chair arms, in the same corner, completely undrawable. He heard a sound of metal sliding, as of a sword being drawn, and instantly torched the curtain. A boy started to scream.

Yuuri almost as instantly threw a spell to douse the flaming curtain with water. Wolfram was already running forward in horror – Efram's sleeve was black, except where red-and-black burned skin showed through. "Yuuri, get Chichiue, NOW!"

Wolfram knelt in front of a terrified Efram, who backed away into the window. As gently as he could manage in his urgency, he said, "Efram, I have to start healing it before Chichiue gets here. This can't wait." A burn like that was almost painless – at first. But within minutes the agony grew beyond bearable.

"I'll heal it myself!" cried Efram. But the pain was mounting, and the youth started to crumple, holding his burned wrist up and away from his body in horror.

"You can't, honey," said Wolfram, ripping the rest of the ruined shirt off his brother. "Even Chichiue couldn't heal this for himself," he soothed, suspecting it was untrue. "I'm just doing first aid, Efram, to control the pain until he gets here." Despite the urgency, Wolfram took a moment to focus. A bad burn was really out of his league training-wise. And a burn was one of the worst things for a fire healer like himself to heal – his healing power was always bathed in flame.

Yuuri dispatched guards to find their healer father. He returned to kneel at Efram's side, stroking his shoulder, trying to reassure him while Wolfram worked. Wolfram held Efram's arm straight out and placed a palm on the burned forearm. Healing fire tendrils snaked out from fingers and hand to lap all up and down Efram's arm. Yuuri gulped – he'd felt Wolfram's healing touch, and it was hot. Efram tried to be brave, but in a split second he was screaming. Yuuri clasped the boy to his chest, and in a few minutes, Wolfram withdrew the flames, Efram shaking and gasping.

"Get some water for him to drink, Yuuri," Wolfram said quietly, brushing his brother's hair back from his face. Yuuri scurried back with it, and stroked Efram's back while he drank. He was awed by how much alike the two half-brothers looked, especially Efram's murdurous green glare.

"Your healing sucks, Aniki," Efram grumbled when he felt a little less shocky. He looked at his arm and got scared again, so Wolfram gently pushed his face back to look in his eyes instead.

"Chichiue will be here soon, otouto. He can get it all, I promise." And Wolfram continued to stroke his brother's hair, hand blocking the horrifying view of his arm, looking him straight in the eye, murmuring things.

Two guards burst in with Manfred within ten minutes, apparently having run together with him, since Manfred couldn't run on his own power. They helped him to a chair brought beside Efram's burnt arm. "Thank you, gentlemen… What's this, then? Surely you two of all people know better than to play with fire? Let me see." Manfred winced as he ran a monitoring hand an inch above the blistering flesh from shoulder to wrist. "Well, granted it probably doesn't look much better, but you've your Aniki to thank for saving you a world of pain, hm? Now let's see if I can't get your looks back up to family standards."

"But he's the one –" Efram blurted out.

"None of that," Manfred cut in firmly. "First we heal the body. Screwed up heads and mighta-shoulda-coulda can wait." Despite the outburst, Wolfram never let up looking Efram straight in his matching emerald eyes and smoothing his matching yellow-blond hair, obstructing his view of his arm. Manfred placed his palm much as Wolfram had, but a far brighter set of fire tendrils, with stronger blue cores, snaked steadily and surely up and down and around Efram's arm. Efram gulped and his eyes streamed, but he looked Wolfram steadily in the eye and didn't scream again. It took another ten minutes, but when Manfred stopped, Efram's arm was good as new, not a sign of anything ever having been wrong. "Well, now you look like me again. Lucky you, fire pixie."

Wolfram sat back on his heels, releasing the boy. Efram cradled his arm, unable to resist inspecting and petting it. "Could you have healed this on yourself, Chichiue?" The fire healer gift passed reliably from father to son – it was his own potential Efram was really asking about.

"Mm, don't know what it looked like before Wolfram. After Wolfram's first aid, certainly."

"Is that what happened to your leg?" Efram looked Manfred in the eye.

Manfred nodded slowly. "I passed out trying. And unfortunately, I didn't have you or your brother's help. I was the only healer in the unit. And I was out cold."

"Couldn't you fix it later?"

"Even Shinou couldn't bring back the dead, Efram. The damage was done. However. It certainly inspired me to study harder, hm? So." Manfred sat back and surveyed his sons dolefully. "Wolfram. Please explain to me why you burned your brother and ruined a perfectly good set of curtains."

Wolfram swallowed. His eyes fixed on something Yuuri had already seen – the sliding metal latch on the window door to the balcony was unfastened. "I thought he was an attacker. I heard metal being drawn… my sword was over here… I reacted."

"As usual. I believe we've spoken of your temper before, hm? Efram. Pray tell, why you were lurking in your brother's curtains?" Efram turned mulish and crimson, and glared at the floor. "Oh, what fun, a guessing game. Curious about his sex life? …Got it in one, I see. Did you consider anything radical, like… asking him politely?"

Both brothers and Yuuri stared at the floor blushing at that. "No, I see. Whyever be rational and honest about a glaringly obvious and perfectly reasonable question. Wolfram. I'm sure you still have a certain book? The homosexual how-to manual with illustrations, that Yuuri brought from his home world? Efram and I are borrowing it. Bring it, please."

Wolfram obeyed. Blushing, he hesitated and found a certain page before handing it over to Efram, whose eyes grew wide as he drank in the picture. "Um, Wolfram? Which are you?"

While Yuuri hid his face altogether, Wolfram pointed. "Me. Him."

"Oh."

"You'll have plenty of time to study it later," Manfred said, taking the book and marking the page. "Wolfram, did you know Efram shares your flair for art? I think he'll be spending a few hours copying studies of male anatomy and response while the other kids are out playing and exploring the castle. Any particular requests?"

Wolfram took the book and riffled through it, marked a page, and handed it back. Efram's lack of dismay at his punishment made it clear he really was more interested in the book at the moment. "Chichiue… There's something I'd like to speak to Efram about in private if you don't mind," Wolfram requested.

Manfred smiled pleasantly and leaned back. "No way in hell. Pretty vixen, you and the fire pixie settle this, completely, in front of me, right here, right now. When I leave this room, with Efram, this matter is over, foreverAm I understood?"

Wolfram briefly considered trying to put this conversation to a man-to-man footing instead of man-to-son, and dropped the idea as if – burned. Man-to-man he'd just grievously wounded this other man's son. He turned to Efram instead. "Efram… you overheard Yuuri and me fighting. Every couple fights from time to time, especially when they're under a lot of stress, like this wedding. We said things no one else was meant to hear."

"Like what," demanded Manfred.

Efram synopsized, looking daggers at Wolfram. "Like Yuuri can't stand the idea of adopting Dierdra's baby because he'd turn out like me, and Wolfram thinks Yuuri's a racist human-lover who hates his own demon people."

"Is this… fairly accurate, Wolfram?" asked Manfred, in a voice dripping venom. Wolfram clenched his eyes shut in pain, and nodded briefly.

"I –" Yuuri attempted to object.

"No one asked you," Manfred cut him off. "Anything else I need to know about, my dear sons. No? Shinou be praised… Wolfram. Apologize to Efram."

Wolfram stood in front of Efram and bowed his head. "Efram, burning you was unforgivable. I'm an adult. You're my brother. And I love you. And what you overheard… was ugly. And I have to believe, that it wasn't really true. I hope that you can find it within yourself to forgive me." Yuuri had never, ever heard Wolfram apologize that abjectly before.

Manfred wasn't especially impressed. "Efram."

"Wolfram, spying on you was dishonest. If what I heard upset me, it was my own fault for eavesdropping. Thank you for healing my arm, even though you suck at it." Manfred cleared his throat. "Yeah, so, I forgive you for burning me. It was my fault." Manfred tapped his chair arm to indicate, you're not done yet. "And what I heard that I shouldn't have…" Efram screwed up his face in fury. "I can't, Chichiue! How can I forgive and forget that!"

Manfred shrugged. "Then speak your piece."

"I want him!" Efram yelled at Wolfram in anguish. "I want the baby! He's my first cousin and my half brother – that's as close as I'll ever get to having a full brother!" He pointed at Yuuri, furious tears pooling in ardent emerald eyes. "He doesn't deserve my baby brother!"

Wolfram's heart and tearing eyes met Efram's exactly in anguish. He'd always wanted a full brother, too. He wanted the baby, a baby to grow like Efram, with aching force.

Yuuri felt his heart would break watching this. "I – " he attempted.

"Shut up, Yuuri," said Manfred. "Efram, can you forgive Wolfram's side of that?"

Efram hung his head and nodded. "I still want the baby. But I know you do, too. And you probably won't dump the wimp over this, even if I think you should. You'll still be my brother and I love you. Apology accepted, Wolfram."

"Thank you," Wolfram whispered sadly. "Apology accepted, Efram."

"Then we're done here. Efram, I'd like to ask that you not discuss this with Dierdra or anyone else. This one's all mine... Understood?" Efram nodded. Manfred pulled himself up onto his cane and started hobbling out of the room, book tucked under his cane arm, hand on Efram's shoulder. Yuuri tried again to approach him, but Manfred stared him down. Wolfram didn't even try. As the door closed, he just sunk to the floor and buried his head in his arms on his knees.

"He's good," attempted Yuuri, scared.

But Wolfram was completely deflated. "Chichiue? One of the best healers in the world. Efram was damned lucky he was in the same building – even with Giesela, he'd have been scarred for life. Way out of my league – even just blocking the pain, that was the toughest healing I've ever done."

"I meant as a father. He intimidates me so much, I forget that. You have an awesome father."

"Yeah." Wolfram's voice was muffled in his arms. "Days like this, I wish I'd spent more time with him, instead of as Hahaue's dress-up doll. When I screwed over Conrad and Gwendal, I got petted and coddled and he's-just-a-babied. Efram's a better person than I am for it. Of course, it helps that they live in the same town."

Yuuri gingerly sat down next to him, stroked his back a little. "He is. Efram's a great kid. A brave kid. And you make a terrific father. You're great with Greta, and you were wonderful with Efram. Seeing you together… Wolfram, you'd be phenomenal as his brother's father – your brother's father. I'm the one who flunked out today, not you. You can handle it. Let's do it. Let's adopt the baby."

"Fat chance of that now. And it was my fault, not yours. I overreacted and mouthed off when you were just trying to say you weren't ready. I overreacted again and nearly scarred my brother for life. And by doing all that, I convinced my father that I wasn't mature enough for him to entrust his son to."

"No, hear me out," said Yuuri. "Manfred accepted your apologies, even if you said them to Efram. It was me he couldn't forgive. And he was right. You and Efram were right. I'm Maou of the Mazoku, and I still haven't fully accepted Mazoku. But it's not racism. It's… Wolfram, even the humans in this world live decades longer than in mine." Wolfram twitched at that revelation. "I don't really expect to live to your age. If I do, I'll be ancient and fragile. Maybe. Probably. Maybe being Maou, I'll be more Mazoku than my father, as a full Earth Mazoku. But so far… I seem like a pretty normal human 17 year old.

"I don't like to face that any full-Mazoku child will grow up and marry and have children after I'm dead and gone. That you'll have to be that child's real parent instead of me, because he'll live on a different timescale. But… I'd like it even less for you to live on for centuries after I'm gone, with nothing left of me, of our time together, because I wouldn't let you have a love on your timescale. That's what was freaking me out. Time. But I want you to have this child, for us to have this child. Someone to live on after I'm gone, that's what all parents want, right? So, I'm young to have a baby. I'm young to have an eleven-year-old, but I've got people around to help, you most of all. Let's do this adoption. I'll talk to Manfred and apologize and –"

"Don't talk to Chichiue." Wolfram raised his head at that foolhardy suggestion. "Stay away from him for a few days. Let him cool off. Then let me do the talking. Believe me, Yuuri – his temper's worse than mine, just better controlled. Please, Yuuri. I want this. I want this more than I've ever wanted anything before… except you."

Yuuri nodded. He tentatively put his hands on Wolfram's shoulders, seeking permission for a hug. Wolfram embraced him tight. Yuuri kissed his way around from Wolfram's ear to his mouth, building up to a deep kiss. "Say, Wolfram… We're alone together…"

"Efram was banking on it. Clever kid."

Yuuri chuckled. "I've missed you… It'll be dinner soon, but.. let me sleep back here with you tonight?" Yuuri's hands wanderd down Wolfram's sides, then one around to the small of his back, pressing him closer.

"Mmm, definitely…"

A knock on the door and Günter's familiar "Heika?" interrupted. "Tonight," Yuuri whispered. Wolfram nodded. "Come in?" Yuuri called to the door.

Günter entered, accompanied by Conrad and yet another wedding preliminaries itinerary. "Ah, Heika! I trust you enjoyed your rest break? This evening, of course, you'll be dining with all of Wolfram's relatives from Bielenfeld and Gratz – it wouldn't do to slight them, and after tonight you'll be too busy –"

"Will you come, too?" Yuuri asked hopefully.

"Oh, of course not! I couldn't presume –" Behind him, Conrad pointed to himself as an offer.

"Ah – Günter," Yuuri cut in. "Please add Conrad and Gwendal to this evening's dinner list."

"Yuuri," complained Wolfram, "the whole idea is for you to get to know my father's family, not hide behind my mother's."

"Ah, but isn't this a wonderful occasion to bring them closer together? And Gwendal and Friedrich and Brendan are all members of the Ten Aristocrats…"

Wolfram conceded the point. Günter made an annotation and continued. "After dinner, Wolfram and Gwendal meet with Friedrich and Brendan and the von Trondheims on military matters, while Yuuri has coffee and dessert with Greta and the delegations from Cavalcade, Mizrat, and Frieburg. Followed by both of you having a nightcap with…"

Yuuri's mind drifted to what he wanted to accomplish at those small private meetings leading up to the big allies' summit the day after next, since they were all in town for the wedding anyway. He automatically tuned back in when Günter's voice regained its whiny edge.

"…And Wolfram. For tomorrow night's dinner for your parent's and Yuuri's to meet – I assume you'll want Gwendal and Conrad. Exactly who in the Bielenfeld… group…?"

"Chichiue and Efram and Dierdra –"

"Dierdra? Heika, Manfred's pregnant ex-girlfriend is hardly appropriate –"

"I agree with Wolfram," said Yuuri, hand up to ward off further objections. "And your grandmother and Aunt Sophie as well, Wolfram?"

"Of course. And Adelbert and Brendan, too, if you don't mind. They're practically my uncles."

Günter wrote them down grudgingly, then looked at him, lips pursed. "And, of the rest of your half-siblings?"

Wolfram sighed. "No, I guess not. It's not like I really know them myself. Unless Greta wants one of the girls to come – please let Greta bring any of my half-siblings she wants."

"Ah, could I invite Murata, too? As family?" asked Yuuri. "My family knows him from the other world." Wolfram nodded and Günter penciled him in.

"Well," said Günter, handing them a copy of the next 24 hours' itinerary, "enjoy the slow pace of this family day. Things pick up considerably after this, through the wonderful wedding day!" He looked so beatific at this that Yuuri and Wolfram put on their broad bright soon-to-crack smiles as they waved the men out of the room, promising to emerge promptly in the ten minutes they were allotted to change for dinner.

Wolfram, plastic smile still afixed, said, "This is my fault, isn't it. I wanted a big wedding to make up for last year's fiasco. Tell me 'I told you so' now, Yuuri. By tomorrow, I might have to kill you if you say it."

"Ah, thanks for the offer, but… In ten minutes we're dining with Manfred and Efram, who'd just as soon see me dead right now, so…"

Wolfram sighed, and nodded in sad agreement.

-oOo-

Author's note: This story is dedicated to Schnickledooger, who suggested I follow up Axel with a story of Cheri and Manfred having another baby boy and Yuuri and Wolfram adopting it. So, Schnick's version of this story:

-oOo-

WOLFRAM: summons ball of flame in hand: Now listen carefully. This is fire. It's UBER HOT-like Papa Yuuri. Ahem. You burn mean/evil/Hideously Ugly Boys Clubs members/unfaithful cheating fiances with it. Then you throw back your head and laugh triumphantly. Understand?

YUURI: enters in room: Howse my two fav demons?:clothes mysteriously catch ablaze; YUURI: runs about shrieking and jigging:

BABY: claps hands and giggles pointing: WIMP! WIMP!

WOLFRAM: beams, cuddles BABY to chest and cooes: That's my little protege! I'm SO PROUD!

(by Schnickledooger)

-oOo-

Heh, heh. I know you only wanted one baby, Schnickledooger - Cheri and Manfred's. Forgive me. But I want to keep the readers guessing which / how many / what gender / what race / what age kids they get in this… wedding. :evil author grin: (Of course, readers of Epilogue already have an outline of how the wedding goes… I couldn't have the baby be preordained as well…)

-oOo-

Please review.