- Appreciating the Euphemism -
Chapter 1: Handshake
Character(s): Conrart, Gwendal, Yuuri; mentions of Murata, Ulrike
Chapter Summary: There was only one time he ever shook hands with a person he wasn't attempting to size up, or otherwise break down.
Disclaimer: No copyright infringement intended. All rights go to the legal owners and creators of Kyou Kara Maou!; Geneon, Tomo Takabayashi, et cetera.
Song: There She Goes by The La's
Additional Notes: My first published fic EVAR! … This will probably just be a compilation of somewhat pointless ravings. Anyways, critiques are welcomed (:
Gwendal was skilled at intimidation, and adept at incorporating it into the many aspects of his career. Take handshaking, for instance. Throughout his lifetime, he had shaken the hands of many a foreign diplomats, and was able to analyze the person thoroughly depending on how they reacted to his grip. His grip was, after all, unaccountably formidable— capable of shaking the greasy facade of an over-confident nobleman, relaying his unshakeable nature to those with rebellious streaks, and, for allies, assuring them of his strength and fortitude in negotiations.
There was only one time he ever shook hands with a person he wasn't attempting to size up, or otherwise break down. He had been hurrying down the dimly lit corridors of Blood Pledge Castle, making his way towards the conference room in face of the instant summons the Great Sage had issued. It was hardly dawn yet, and the sun was tucked away amongst a blanket of fog, making the windows scarcely useful for allowing any light into the stone fortress.
As he walked, attempting to stave away the impending headache that accompanied most Maou-related incidences, he came across his brother, walking in the opposite direction.
"Conrart, you are aware that we have been summoned by the Great Sage?"
Conrart nodded, but made no move to alter directions. "Yes. We were headed there when the need for a lavatory presented itself."
Gwendal's brow furrowed in consternation; he was thrown off by something his brother had said. "We?" he echoed questioningly. Just then, a small squeak originated from somewhere behind Conrart's right elbow. It was then that the elder brother noticed the large, wide black eyes staring out at him.
"Yuuri, won't you come out and introduce yourself?" Conrart asked kindly, raising his arm to reveal that a very small, very childlike version of the Maou was hiding behind him in fear. The child-Yuuri made no move to step out of the man's protective sphere, and instead buried his face into the man's side.
Conrart— who appeared supremely unapologetic— smiled exasperatedly down at Yuuri before redirecting his attentions to his brother. "He was a bit shy when he was younger," he supplied. Gwendal could tell that his brother didn't mind the child clinging to him one bit. In fact, he looked rather proud.
"What happened?" Gwendal finally managed, blinking down at the four-foot-tall child in astonishment, the only trait giving him away a messy mop of coal black hair.
Conrart, who had been patting the child's shoulder soothingly, immediately straightened. "It seems Heika was visiting the Great Sage at Shinou's Temple when he caught wind of a mild disturbance in town. Apparently, villagers were randomly being transformed into child-versions of themselves," he paused, letting his brother absorb this.
"When did this begin?" Gwendal asked, briskly starting off towards the conference room, and motioning for his brother to do to the same. After murmuring some words to Yuuri, Conrart followed, albeit at a slower pace to accommodate the child shuffling along behind him. Yuuri warily cast glances at Gwendal every now and again, seeming at once both curious and apprehensive about the man with whom Conrart was talking so familiarly. All the other people who they had come across, Yuuri recalled, had made some sort of hand-gesture to the man, politely bowing their heads. Never did they speak directly to him.
"Early into the morning, just before the Great Sage himself summoned us," Conrart said, easing the other man's steadily stiffening shoulders. As if sensing his brother's irritation, he quickly added, "He made it here as soon as possible to inform us, after stabilizing Ulrike-sama. Her… repressed ambitions seem to have manifested themselves once more. They have been on a childhood-inducing quest since then; I can't imagine Shinou-heika's slumber has been easy for her." Neither of them spoke of it, but they both clearly remembered the similar predicament Ulrike's incarnation had put them in last time.
Gwendal just grunted, and hastened his pace slightly, when a small and light voice filtered through the silence.
"Connie?"
"Yes, Yuuri?"
"… Who is that?"
Conrart chuckled lightly and stopped, the conference chamber just around the corner. Gwendal hesitated before also halting, turning slightly to face the pair. Despite the urgency of the situation (a child could not rule a kingdom) the utter cuteness also swayed him.
"This man is Gwendal von Voltaire; he is very important to this country. You could say he handles many things so that others won't have to." A bit mollified by his brother's over-simplified summary, the man's shoulders relaxed a bit more, his face softening as Yuuri poked his head out from behind Conrart once more. The child appeared impressed, but still unwilling to approach the towering figure. His bright onyx eyes were shining with awe, small mouth slightly ajar. Gwendal's lips twitched.
Cheeks flushing slightly, and a bit put out to know he would not have the opportunity to cradle something so overwhelmingly cute and squishy, he cleared his throat and moved to finish the short walk to the room when he heard his brother speak up once more, tone soft and fond. "He is also my brother."
Yuuri immediately brightened, and peeked out from behind Conrart's arm, which he still fervently clung to. "Oh!" he exclaimed, and bounced out to meet Gwendal, eyes alight with new understanding. Gwendal dropped down to one knee so that the young child would not feel threatened. But Yuuri, grinning brilliantly, looked far from it.
He approached Gwendal and thrust out a chubby hand, prime for shaking. Surprised, Gwendal acquiesced, sure to monitor the amount of strength the boy used in order to assure he, in turn, did not squeeze too hard. "I have a brother too. His name's Shouri. You look kind of like him," Yuuri commented, and pointedly reached up to press two fingers against the man's furrowed brow. Finding himself without suitable words, Gwendal did not reply.
But Yuuri's face suddenly sobered. He retracted his hand from Gwendal's face, and instead placed it on the man's hand, which was resting on his upraised knee.
"You should really smile more, y'know?" he said seriously. And after a moment's thought, "You'd look really pretty!"
Gwendal spluttered, and Conrart was unable to suppress the bubble of happiness, slowly expanding in his chest, which caused him to laugh.
A/N: Know it's been done before, but I love the idea. -coos at the utter cute-