A/N: Just a short piece of fluff to tide you over until I can finish up...that other fic... (You know, if you're like me and need your ConYuu fix. *twitch* It's like drugs, I tells ya.) This may or may not be ConYuu, depending on how you look at it.

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Welcome

"Welcome to the world, Your Majesty," was what he said at the birth, when Jennifer was wheeled into the operating room.

He said it again, directly to his future Lord, as the infant in the cradle looked up at him with such bright eyes filled with sweetness and soul-deep wisdom. Chubby apple-cheeks surrounding a toothless grin, giggles, squeals, burbling spit-bubbles. His young master was adorable, and for the first time in years, he found himself gifting the babe with a true smile. It was one that reached his eyes in a way that he hadn't been able to do since his own childhood.

His Majesty, pleased with the gift, bestowed upon his humble servant a most precious treasure: a rubber duck.

He took the duck, bowed to His Majesty, and left with the smile still etched into his face. For some reason, he couldn't stop grinning all the way home, and when his family and friends remarked upon the change, he just thought of His Majesty and smiled and smiled and smiled, because the joy in his heart could not be contained.

Time brought him happiness as he waited, and then the day came when he could say as he had often dreamed throughout the years, "Welcome to your world, Your Majesty."

They talked on their way to the temporary shelter; they talked as they played catch outside the cabin. Part of him wished he had been there to witness His Majesty's growth, but the larger part of him was amazed that His Majesty had become such an interesting person. But then His Majesty had asked, "How do you know about baseball?" and the truth had come out, and then it was, "Call me Yuuri, Nazukeoya!"

"Welcome back, Yuuri," he greeted His Majesty upon subsequent returns.

"Welcome back, Your Majesty," he sometimes said just to get an exasperated reaction. He was always there to greet His Majesty, so he must have said "Welcome back," a hundred times before it changed.

It was years after His Majesty had first set foot in this kingdom, and the boy had become a man. Sometimes he still saw the faint image of an infant or a teenager superimposed upon the striking young man His Majesty had become, but there was no need for this powerful figure to have a constant guardian anymore. It wasn't as if this stately king would trip over his own feet at regular intervals and need to be caught.

It was at this time that His Majesty proclaimed that Shin Makoku wasn't just his second home, but felt more like home than Earth. After that announcement, his greetings were fewer and farther between, but that was because His Majesty stayed for longer and longer periods of time.

But always, always, he would be there to welcome His Majesty, and when he did, he said with as much warmth as he could muster, "Welcome home."

When His Majesty responded, it was with a teasing tone as he said, "I'm supposed to say 'Tadaima!' before you say that."

It was then that he fully noticed the change that had been occurring, and all the different "welcomes" he had been giving. It was slightly disconcerting that he didn't know where this was leading, but he was also grateful for it because he didn't know any other way to express the change in the way they related to each other. Part of him felt that there should never be any such changes, for he was nothing but His Majesty's loyal soldier. However, another part of him said that this subtle insolence could be his dirty little secret. Even as he thought this, his speech patterns were already morphing again.

And then... and then...

Eventually, "Welcome home," just became "Welcome."

His Majesty splashes up from the fountain and he's there, waiting with towels in hand.

"Welcome," he says.

You are welcome to my heart, howsoever you shall have me.