Pale Pink
By: Maeleene
A/N: Another fic about Wolf. It turned out longer than I expected, which is okay by me! I know there are probably tons of fics like this, but I'm hoping that I've at least managed to put a new sort of spin on it! Tell me what you think! Your opinions and critiques are invaluable!
Disclaimer: I take no credit for the characters, yadda yadda!
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Pale pink was Wolfram's least favourite colour. Even more than orange or maroon, he hated pale pink.
He had bright green eyes, and the maids said pink contrasted perfectly with them. His mother said the colour made his golden hair shine brighter, but he didn't really want to sparkle like a piece of jewelry. And so as he grew up, he avoided the colour like the plague.
He tried to, anyway, until Yuuri Shibuya showed up.
Now, he was not particularly fond of boys. He wasn't particularly fond of girls, either. He didn't crave romantic love, nor did he pine for anyone, and he certainly wasn't for unrequited affection. More than humans, he detested the thought of a relationship. When that damn wimp of a Maou had so carelessly slapped his cheek, Wolf seriously considered strangling him!
But then the strangest thing happened. That wimp had beat him in a duel. Him! Lord Wolfram von Bielefeld, had lost to that... untrained... sappy... ARGH!!
Wolfram was not weak. No, he wasn't as skilled with the sword as Gunter or Lord Weller, maybe not even as skilled as Gwendel, but he wasn't weak. So when his sword had flown out of his hand and his magic had run rampant with his anger, he was shocked into a stunned sort of silence. If his pride was a person, it would be bleeding out from humiliating wounds! What stunned him more was the majesty that Yuuri exhibited when the rain started falling and the dragons wrapped around him, squeezing him painfully and nearly suffocating him.
His rump hurt the rest of the day after the not-so-graceful fall to the ground when that wimp had fainted.
Despite all this, he felt something stir inside him. It was a strange feeling, too, like nothing Wolf had ever experienced, and he felt strangely subdued by it. With that came an unexplained vulnerability.
He loved his mother, and he loved his older brother. He might even have cared the smallest bit for Lord Weller, but none of those feelings had made him feel so helpless. So when that silly boy woke up and noticed him, he clenched his arms to his chest and turned his nose up with a pompous, "Hmph!"
He might as well act like he was still the strong, fierce Mazoku he used to be.
After that day, he found himself wanting to please the would-be Maou in little ways. So when he left to take care of the endangered village, and Yuuri whined to be taken to escape his boredom, Wolfram had no choice but to comply. He was aware the maids whispered about it, and he knew that letting the wimp ride behind him on his horse would create horrendous amounts of gossip, but he couldn't help it! Denying his accidental fiancé was really difficult, especially when he pouted like that. So he gritted his teeth and rode out.
The whole incident was mildly embarrassing, being caught by Adelbert like that, and then almost allowing that wimp- his wimp!!- to be kidnaped. And then the coronation. To leave in the middle of such an important event! Honestly! Did that boy have no humility?
So it came as a mild shock when, standing idly beside his older brother's desk, chatting about inconsequential incidents, the king rushed in and declared his determination to avoid war. Barely, just barely, he managed to avoid scoffing at the very thought. The war was as sure as day and night, and retrieving the legendary Morgif was something Wolfram was sure Yuuri could never manage. Especially when he kept calling it "Melgib." Still, when he was told to stay behind and let him go alone with Weller, Wolf nearly blew up a castle room. Let him go off and cheat?! After he had been tied to the pathetic wimp against his will?! His pride could not and would not suffer that humiliation!!
He forgot about his determination on the ship, however... It was all that wimp's fault! And then he just had to go up and dance with Shinou-knows-who. His blood boiled.
However, as Yuuri lay in his lap for those days after the pirate attack, his damn, wimpy hands sometimes traveling a little too far for real comfort, Wolf relented and forgave him. He was pretty adorable when he slept like that. And it was nice, not being rejected by him for once.
He decided then and there that he wanted that acceptance even when the king was awake. He wanted, for once in all of his eighty-two years, love.
He was so furious when Yuuri suggesting ending his chance to gain what he wanted most that he shut himself in a damn closet! He had to wait until the other boy gave in and sweet-talked him out of it to save his quickly dwindling pride.
The things he ended up doing for this fool...
He was glad to return to Shin Makoku, where he could rely on his fire majutsuu more and the vulnerable feeling eased. He was not glad when his fiancé ran out of the room screaming when he awoke to find Wolfram in his bed and topless. Really! With the way Yuuri reacted, you'd think the prince had been lounging naked beneath the sheets! Finding out that the wimp had run back to his world thoroughly soured his mood for the remainder of the week.
Which was why he was now sitting there, feeling like a fool, with a pretty smile on his face, and in pale. pink.
His mother had a way of coaxing things out of people, especially her favourite 'little baby', Wolfram. He had never discovered a way to resist her pouty, weepy, pleading ways when she wanted something from him. So when she clasped her hands and begged him to tell Mummy what troubled him so, he had no choice but to sigh and comply.
"Yuuri doesn't like me."
She blinked. "Don't be silly, Wolfie! Everyone adores you!" She pinched his cheeks and tapped his nose and coddled him, ignoring his whimpering protests.
"No, Mother, he really doesn't like me. He ran from me yesterday! He went back to his world just to escape me! And he wanted me to break off the engagement!" He sounded like a little toddler who didn't get his favourite toy, but he didn't care. "He doesn't want me... Says two boys don't belong together. That it's weird. And to top it all off, he can't even handle me in a damn pair of pants while I sleep."
His mother clucked his tongue and shook her head. "So maybe it is a bit of a predicament, but darling, you've got to know that no one finds you undesirable. I'm sure even His Majesty thinks you're attractive. In fact," and here she winked, "that could just be why he ran. Some boys are so fickle when it comes to love. They reject it endlessly when they really want nothing more then to succumb to my charms and... Well, not my charms, per se, but..."
Wolf smiled in spite of himself, disentangling himself from his mother's clutches. "Thank you, Mother. But that doesn't solve the fact that he can't stand the sight of me shirtless."
She tilted her head and tapped a long finger against her lips as she thought, and then she grinned. "Oh, Wolfie! I know just what to do! Stay here!"
He plopped down onto his bed and tried to ignore the rising feeling of impending doom. After all, she was his mother! She always had his best interests at mind.
That didn't stop him from nearly gagging when he saw the abomination she presented him with upon her return.
The object in and of itself was disgusting. The frills were atrocious. The cut was despicable. But the colour? His stomach churned and he couldn't help but cry out, "MOTHER!!"
She waved a hand and smiled sweetly. "Trust me, this'll do the trick! The Maou says he's fond of ladies, yes? Well, he wouldn't have run from a half naked man if he didn't find himself attracted to him. So why not combine the two things he likes into one glorious item he can't resist?"
Wolfram wanted to reply but she shook her finger at him. "No arguing. Try it on. Trust me, dear, you'll see what I mean!"
With shaking hands and eyes the size of saucers, he went behind the changing screen to put the damnable thing on. It felt funny, too flimsy, and he would be cold in it. Wolfram hated the cold. And it wasn't made to fit his shoulders. It kept slipping off one side. And it was pink! Pale pink. Grudgingly, he walked back to the center of the room.
The squealing was unbearable.
"Mother! Please! This is bad enough as it is!"
"Oh, Wolfie!! You're so adorable!! I knew it would be just perfect for you! Oh, you're so sweet!" She paused, frowning at his feet. "You may want to take your boots off when you go to bed, though. It looks rather silly."
Wolfram endured the cooing and delighted bouts of joy for an entire half hour (which was thirty minutes too many, in his opinion), before he ushered his mother out of the room and changed, throwing the disgusting piece of nightwear in the corner in favour of his duties. He thought nothing of it, until Yuuri came back.
And now Yuuri gaped at him, his eyes wide and his finger pointing, and Wolfram tried hard to put on his prettiest smile. When the nightgown fell off his shoulder, he raised the exposed skin the tiniest bit, drawing attention to his flesh.
It was shameless. It was humiliating. His pride was hurting!
No, his pride was dead. Yuuri Shibuya had officially thrown the prince's pride out the window!
Still, Yuuri's reaction was mildly satisfying. The wimp's face was beet red, and he couldn't stop stuttering. Aside from complaining a little, he hadn't kicked Wolf out, nor had he run from the room. And so Wolfram kept the damn thing, wore it nightly when Yuuri was present, in hopes that it might help. So far, the results were in favour of the gown. How could he get rid of one of his few advantages?
Wolfram von Bielefeld had to live with it.
Even if it was pale pink.
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