A Family Man
Summary: "Why don't you marry Wolfram?" Greta asks of Yuri, her brown eyes widening in curiosity. Yuri considers carefully before answering. (Yuuram, rated K)
The young Maou had just returned from an extended stay in his own world. Wolfram had grown accustomed to time alone with his daughter, and he was reluctant to part with her when Greta made a surprising request.
"I want to go on a picnic with Yuri!" the little girl with the curly hair exclaimed. The sun hadn't yet risen, and the Demon King blinked the sleep out of his eyes.
"Wolfram," he said in more of a groan than anything. "Your daughter is calling."
"Before sunrise, she's your daughter," the bed's third occupant answered without opening his eyes.
"Does this mean we can go?" Greta said, her childish voice rising to a squeal. The Bielefeld heir squished his pillow over his head.
"I guess that means yes," Yuri said reluctantly, loathe to keep his daughter from her heart's desire.
"Aiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!" the little princess giggled happily. "Yuri and Greta going to the meadow!"
She really has missed him, Wolfram thought before fading back into sleep. Maybe more than I have.
"Do you really want to go now?" Greta's first father asked with a groan.
"We can wait 'til the sun comes out," she answered. "Do you think we can get Gwendal to make us cookies?"
But Yuri had fallen back to sleep, and she had to wait half an hour for her answer.
When at last they left for the meadow, Wolfram was still in deep sleep, and Yuri tiptoed around the room, so as not to wake the sleeping blonde.
"Cookies?" Gwendal asked with a scolding voice.
"For Greta," Yuri said pointedly.
"Oh," the older man considered it. "Of course, for the princess." And soon they had a basket filled to the brim with a delicious breakfast, and cookies for the way back.
The father-daughter pair climbed the hill to what Greta called "the meadow," and Yuri marveled that Shin-Makoku never seemed to change. In the months since he'd seen his former world, his town had sprouted three new supermarkets, installed a new dog park near the baseball field, and his mother had repainted the upstairs bathroom to what she considered a "soothing" shade of taupe. In stark contrast, Blood Pledge Castle was left untouched, as though life stopped when he left. The thought struck Yuri with a jolt of guilt. I shouldn't have stayed away so long. I hope I can make it up to them.
"Let's go and pick wildflowers!" Greta shook Yuri from his mind-wandering. For several minutes, they traversed the grassy plain, looking for the gorgeous flowers Maou Celi had named after her sons. Yuri's favorite was Conrad Standing Tall, but for Greta he picked a bunch of Beautiful Wolfram to carry in their basket.
"We'll have to put them in water as soon as we return," he told her as they ate their breakfast. "Or else Wolfram will have a bouquet of dying flowers."
"No!" Greta exclaimed so fiercely that Yuri jumped a little.
"Um, don't worry," he said, scratching his head and smiling nervously. "We won't let that happen." The damage was already done; the little princess had dropped her bear-cookie and was staring desolately at the picnic blanket.
"What is it, Greta?" It was almost a minute before she answered his question with another.
"Yuri," she began slowly. "Why don't you marry Wolfram?" As he struggled for words, she continued, her high voice tripping over words beyond her years. "I mean, he loves you, and we are a family. Aren't we? Don't you love us at all?"
"Um… uh… of course I love you." He was dodging the question, and she was having none of it.
"Then why wait forever before marrying my other daddy?" Her brown eyes filled with bright tears. Yuri would have given his throne to wipe them away and fix her smile again. "Why not make our family a real one?"
"We are already a real family," he tried to assure her. Once more, the astute child was not fooled.
"Stop it," she shook her curly head. "Stop – anoiding the question."
"Avoiding," he corrected her gently. He was repaid with a stern grin that aged her by many years. "And I don't really know." He sighed. "Wolfram didn't really mean to enter into an engagement with me."
"That's not true!" she cried. "He loves you. A blind Mazoku could see it."
"What?"
"Listen," she told him, leaning in confidentially. "When you go, life goes on. Gwendal bakes; Gunter signs papers; Conrad and Yozak train soldiers and perform es-pi-on-age." She sounded out the big words. "But Wolfram and me – we just stop moving. We eat, take walks, paint and tell each other stories, but we mostly wait for you to get back."
Now it was Yuri's turn to well with tears. He turned his head so that his daughter wouldn't see him cry.
"So why not marry him?" Greta persisted.
"I… I…" the king stuttered. "If that's what you want, I'll do it."
"Really?" she gasped. "That's amazing!" In a flash, she was happy again. She jumped up from the blanket and turned a somersault, energetic with jubilance.
"Of course," Yuri said weakly. "Now I do have to ask Wolfram first…"
"He'll say yes," she dismissed this. "You can get married before the Winter Festivals! And we'll see our friends from far away!" Giddy with excitement, she spun on point until she became dizzy.
When they finally returned to Blood Pledge Castle, they found Wolfram painting on the balcony. Instead of his usual profiles, he was doing a family portrait – Yuri's mother, Murata, Gwendal, Conrad, Greta… the entire castle seemed present. Except the Demon King. Yuri's stomach jumped into his throat when he noticed this.
"I'm painting the past months, with one addition to do homage to my liege's lady mother."
"Yeah, sorry about that… Listen, can we talk in private?" Shuffling from foot to foot, Yuri was visibly anxious. Wolfram graciously overlooked this.
"Sure, if you insist." They returned to the Maou's chambers, where Wolfram had left the bed unmade.
"Greta and I had a talk…" Yuri wasn't sure how to begin. "I mean, it got me to thinking, and all…"
"Yuri, speak plainly," Wolfram said, tilting his gorgeous head. Snap out of it, Yuri. You can do this.
"It's just – um," he faltered. "Would you want to get married?"
"I'm your fiancé," Wolfram answered coldly. Like Yuri, he was also avoiding the question.
"Well, I know that." Yuri stumbled. "But we've been engaged for years, more or less."
"So why now?" Wolfram challenged, the fire demon in him rising to the surface. "Is Greta pressuring you?"
"Well, yes, but…"
"But what?" Yuri, you're the king. You don't have to do anything you don't want to." Under his breath, he muttered. "You always do what you want, anyway."
"But I want to. I just never knew I did until she asked."
A moment of silence. Fire and water met each other's' eyes.
"Are you being serious?" Wolfram's glare bore into Yuri's spirit. He shivered.
"Would I lie to you?"
The Mazoku smirked, and his face became even more beautiful.
"You are known to be a good-for-nothing philanderer, so maybe." He took a step closer. "But I might marry you anyway."
"Really?" Yuri hadn't thought he'd be so happy at this news. A year ago, he would have loathed the idea of a wedding to the blonde. But after all we've been through… I know I can count on him.
"Really, really."
"Yahoo!" Yuri gave a whoop of celebration that dated back to his baseball years.
"Please," the Bielefeld rolled his eyes. "You'll disgrace yourself in front of the entire castle."
"I don't care," Yuri said. "I'm happy."
"I am, as well." Wolfram took his fiancé's hand. "Shall we tell my mother?"
"Lady Celi? Why her?"
"Because she'll kill us if we tell anyone else first." The blonde wasn't smirking now. Yuri realized he was right, and he gulped.
"I hope she still finds me a suitable husband for her favorite son – Oh!" He remembered. "Greta and I picked some of your namesake flowers today. They're in a vase on the table in the hallway."
"We'll have to add some red roses to the bouquet," Wolfram said, smiling again. "Remember that day in the greenhouse?"
"Don't remind me," Yuri said with a playful scowl. And, in their walking down memory lane, they found themselves walking to the courtyard, where they knew the former Maou would be having dinner with Anissina and Gunter.
I'm going to be married, Yuri reflected. And for once, this is what I want.
It was good to be in his home country.
Suddenly, the Maou halted in his tracks.
"What is it, Yuri?" Wolfram said, alarmed.
"I have to tell my mother!" Yuri ran off toward the nearest bathroom.
"No fair!" Wolfram chased after him. "You promised we could tell mine first!"
And to the delight of the Lady Celi and her friends, the couple crashed into the bathtub and went spiraling into the next world.