A/N: This is for my new buddy The Codebreaker whom I met on the GLEE fandom.
Disclaimer: I do not own Kyou Kara Maou.
Summary: Jennifer just wants her sons – all three of them – to be happy. This is for my new buddy The Codebreaker.
Tickets to Happiness
by Bagting Hangin
Jennifer knocked on the door of her son's room. In her hands were two DVD boxes, one yellow and one green. Her youngest son had gone out for the day, but there was still one more son at home with her, one she'd wanted to spend some time with for quite a while now.
The door opened, revealing an exceptionally beautiful young boy with blond hair and the brightest green eyes that lit up even more at the sight of her.
"Wolf-chan, would you like to watch DVDs with me?" Jennifer asked excitedly. "Yuuri used to like watching DVDs with me, but since his father let him discover baseball, no one watches with me anymore."
Wolfram smiled and nodded. "I would be honored, Mama."
The two sat down at the living room, in front of them on the coffee table were two large bowls of buttered popcorn. Apparently Jennifer had already loaded the DVD into the player prior, and the TV was displaying the DVD's main menu.
The screen displayed the word GLEE.
Wolfram looked to his intended's mother's ecstatic face. "Happiness?"
Jennifer smiled and nodded. "Yes. Yes, it is."
They started with Season 1, the contents of the yellow box. Jennifer also handed Wolfram a copy of the 2011 Official Annual, and smiled in understanding when Wolfram briefly scanned the Table of Contents and immediately turned it to the 30th page, the one about Kurt Hummel. She kept silent and for the next few hours, the Prince Consort-Apparent and the queen of the Shibuya household sat in rapt attention, allowing themselves to be entertained by the compelling stories and the song numbers that were interspersed in between.
When Yuuri came home that evening, Jennifer observed Wolfram keeping his distance from her youngest son, after they saw episodes about Kurt being bullied for liking other boys. If Yuuri noticed the change in Wolfram's behavior, he said nothing, although he did keep shooting Wolfram puzzled looks, which escalated into shock when at dinnertime, Wolfram had asked to sleep in the guest bedroom, instead of in Yuuri's own.
The next morning, Jennifer noticed dark circles under Yuuri's eyes as he trudged down the stairs to the kitchen. He then sat down at the table, a rare occurrence now. Usually Yuuri just grabbed a piece of toast and ran out the door with it, throwing a "Thanks for breakfast, Mother!" over his shoulder, causing her to call out "You're welcome – and call me Mama!" after him.
Today, not only had Yuuri obviously not slept, he was also at the table having a proper breakfast with her, Shoma, and Shori – or he would have been, if he wasn't busy staring at Wolfram with such obvious confusion. Wolfram for his part was just morosely eating the food Jennifer had set before him, looking at the plate and only the plate. The blond cut the food into manageable portions in a methodical fashion, before spearing a piece, putting it in his mouth, chewing slowly and carefully before swallowing the morsel.
Shoma cleared his throat and it was as if Yuuri was snapped out of his trance. He shot Wolfram one last perplexed look before he left the table, his food still untouched. Jennifer saw him out, and not even the usual thanks was heard from him. The mother sighed as she saw her youngest out the door. Two strong arms wound around her waist from behind her and a kiss was placed on her hair. It was Shoma. "They're growing up, honey. We need to let our sons find their way – Yuuri, Shori, and Wolfram."
Jennifer turned in Shoma's arms and kissed him. "I know. It's just so hard to keep watching Yuuri and Wolfram do this to themselves."
Shoma leaned down and kissed Jennifer deeply before saying. "Every single day you give me a new reason to fall in love with you."
His wife smiled into the kiss before holding up a hand and placing it on Shoma's chest. "You're sweet. Now get going. Just because Shori is inheriting Bob's fortune, that doesn't give you an excuse to be tardy," she said. Then she leaned up to whisper in his ear. "I'll see you tonight."
Shoma hugged Jennifer again and then walked out the door to his car. Mrs. Shibuya placed the hand she'd put on Shoma's chest earlier and put it over her own heart. She followed her husband's car with her eyes. When he turned the corner, she trained her line of sight toward the kitchen, fully expecting the dishes to still be at the table. Wolfram usually waited for her to return to the table before they cleaned up, but all she saw was a clean table, and all the dishes, silverware, and cooking utensils now clean and dried, and in their rack. Correction – Wolfram was drying the last of the dishes, and behind him on the counter were the two DVD boxes from the day before.
Jennifer and Wolfram watched a few more episodes of Glee and then spent the rest of the day doing chores. They shared a comfortable silence as they dusted and did the family's laundry. Jennifer made them lunch and chatted as they cleaned the lone bathroom side by side. When they were done, they watched some more Glee before they worked together to make dinner – Jennifer's famous curry. As the day progressed, Jennifer observed as a look of understanding cross Wolfram's face time and again during some of the Kurt-heavy episodes, and when Yuuri came home, she saw that Wolfram distanced himself even more from her son, barely even speaking to Yuuri now. Her heart ached for both her son and her son's accidental intended, but every time she moved in an attempt to smooth things over between them, Shoma's hand found hers, and she would desist.
The next few days carried on in a similar manner. Yuuri, Shoma, and Shori left for school or work, while Jennifer and Wolfram spent quality time together doing housework, watching Glee or sharing anecdotes about the Shibuya men, particularly Yuuri. She noted how Wolfram's face glowed with each true tale she told about her youngest, only for the light to go out as each story ended. Wolfram loved her son, Jennifer knew. Loved him with his heart and soul. It was almost all she could do not to snap at Yuuri as the days progressed while Yuuri's relationship with Wolfram did not. It was Jennifer who had asked Yuuri to bring Wolfram to earth for a vacation as soon as they'd learnt through King Bob that Yuuri's defeat of Soushu enabled Yuuri to control the time flow between Earth and Shin Makoku. She'd hoped that bringing Wolfram into Yuuri's line of sight without the trappings and responsibilities of royal life would make her son realize that he was as in love with Wolfram as Wolfram was in him, but all her efforts seemed to be in vain.
A week into the vacation and Wolfram and Jennifer were ready to move on to the Season 2 box. Jennifer watched as Wolfram delighted in the possibility of Kurt finding love at last with Blaine. While they did chores, Jennifer and Wolfram discussed the series at length, and Wolfram once joked at one time that at least, Kurt had bigger problems than he did – Blaine was gay and yet, he didn't find Kurt attractive. Yuuri at least had the reason of being attracted only to girls. It was all Jennifer could do not to cry. She'd already seen Glee on cable television before the DVDs came out, and knew what would happen in Original Song. Her heart went out to Wolfram, but she knew Shoma was right – she had to let the boys figure this out on her own. She allowed Wolfram to pop in the DVD, and her heart broke just a little bit more when Blaine kissed Kurt. She reached for Wolfram's hand, and then pulled him into her arms and held Wolfram as he wept tears of joy for Kurt, and tears of sorrow for himself.
The next day at breakfast, Wolfram presented Yuuri with a paper. The writing was in Mazoku so Jennifer couldn't read it, but she could guess what was on it from the flabbergasted response Yuuri made.
"You wrote a paper in my name saying that I want to break the Engagement?" Yuuri cried.
Wolfram nodded morosely. "All you need to do is sign and you're free."
Jennifer watched as Yuuri's eyes narrowed as her son read the bottom part of the document. Yuuri spoke again. "This also says I am banishing you from the Capital forever."
Wolfram hummed in agreement before speaking. "It is for the best."
"But Greta -"
"Will be free to visit me in Bielefeld whenever she is not preoccupied with princess studies. I love her and I will continue to be her father, if she wishes to continue to be my daughter."
"Greta loves you." Yuuri answered, his voice taking on a pleading tone.
"That is true, but she deserves parents who love each other, the way Mama and Father Shouma love each other. I am but an officer in the army, Your Majesty. My place is -"
"Your place is wherever I want it to be!" Yuuri roared.
Shouma spoke up at last. "Son, perhaps it is best if you discussed this somewhere private."
For the first time in his life, Yuuri shot his father an impudent look. "This is a family matter, Dad. Wolfram is my fiancée and if he says he wants to leave me and our daughter, it is a family matter that every member of the Shibuya family should know about!"
Wolfram's jaw dropped. "Yuuri – what?"
Yuuri reached for Wolfram's hand and kissed it. "Wolfram, please. Don't do this. I need you in my life. You can't leave me and Greta."
Jennifer reached for her husband's hand and grasped it tightly, but said nothing.
Wolfram shook his head. "I've seen how people in this world treat boys who like other boys. I don't want that for you. I can't be the cause of your unhappiness, either. I can't. I've tried so hard to gain your love, not knowing what could happen to you. It's best then that you don't love me. You need to share your life with someone you love without having to worry about being hurt or ridiculed. I can't keep doing this to you or to myself. I can't serve the cause of Justice if I deny it to myself, Greta and you."
"Goddammit, Wolfram, I LOVE YOU! Can't you see it? I love you!"
Shori flicked a piece of toast at Yuuri's head. "Watch the language, runt."
Yuuri colored and turned to give Jennifer and Shouma an apology, but Jennifer just shook her head at him, and tears were in her eyes. She nodded for him to continue even as she felt Shouma's hand squeezing hers in return.
Yuuri turned to Wolfram once more. "I guess I'm lucky I didn't have to look, but I know I've found the one, Wolfram. You are the one I'm lucky enough to not have had to look for forever."
Wolfram gasped. Blaine had said something very similar to Kurt. "Yuuri I -"
Yuuri didn't even let him finish the sentence, choosing to kiss him right in front of his entire family, until Shori flicked another piece of toast at his head. "No making out at the table!"
The royal couple parted a whole minute later, probably not even hearing what Shori had said. Yuuri turned to Jennifer and Shouma. "Mom, Dad -"
"Yes," both parents said in unison, before Shouma stood up and hugged his wife around the shoulders.
Shouma leaned down and whispered into Jennifer's ear. "See? I told you they'd find their way. You owe me tickets to the Glee 3D Concert movie."
Jennifer put a hand over her husband's arm and kissed his cheek. "Fine. We'll take the kids, too."
Shori could then be heard heaving a sigh. "I'm paying. I have more money than I know what to do with and this, I guess, calls for a celebration. It's really about time SOME PEOPLE got their act together."
"Hey!" Yuuri and Wolfram cried indignantly.
Shori turned to Jennifer. "See, Mother? Like an old married couple already."
Jennifer shook her head at her eldest and then clasped her hands together. "Now that the business with Yuu-chan is over, you're next, Sho-chan! And call me Mama!"
Shoma leaned down and whispered in her ear again. "Hanshin Tigers season tickets?"
Jennifer turned and shot her husband a smug look. "You're on."