Mother Doesn't Always Know Best

Wow, MBPN wrote another non-smutty fic? And it's GwenGun?! Wow, maybe the apocalypse is coming! Well…maybe not, since I have a sort of sequel to this planned that describes the night after the wedding I hope you all enjoy this little fic, though 3! I don't own KKM nor do I make money from this fic, yadda yadda.

"Mother, please."

"I'll have no arguments, Gwennie! You're much too old to be without a wife, and I WILL find you a suitable woman for this ball!"

"But I'm already—"

"No 'buts', Gwendal! You need a woman and that's that!"

With that final statement, Lady Cecile turned and strutted out of the room, smiling proudly. She was certain her matchmaking skills would successfully bring Gwendal together with a lovely young lady, and this ball would surely end in wedding bells. In fact, this ball was designed for that purpose…not that she'd admit that to anyone.

However, had the ex-Queen listened to her son, she would've heard him say "But I'm already in love". Had her listening skills been as good as her talking skills, a whole lot of annoyance and a huge mess could have easily been avoided. Unfortunately, she was too wrapped up in her plans to get her eldest son married off to worry about his opinion on the matter.

"This is insane! My mother never listens. Insisting I go to the ball with a woman…I don't even like women! When the announcement was made that a ball was planned, I was sure I'd finally get the chance to ask him, but now my mother has ruined that…" Gwendal was ranting, locked in his bedroom. Had he not been a dignified, prideful soldier, he would've cried, but that was a sign of weakness. Still, he found himself unable to fight back the tears that welled up in his eyes.

"He's sure to attend this ball as well…and he's sure to find someone attractive…deserving of him…I'll never be the one." he sighed as images of the lavender haired, violet eyed man he so yearned for flickered through his mind.

Lady Cecile busily went through the records of suitable young women to invite to the ball and share a dance with Gwendal. If all went well, one of them would soon be his bride. After writing up invites to countless princesses within the kingdom, she proceeded to look through the nearby women.

"Lady Flynn…she's such a strong woman, yet incredibly beautiful...perfect for my Gwen-Gwen!" she sighed as she wrote out an invite to the young ruler, then continued thinking.

"My dearest Anissina gets along wonderfully with Gwendal! There may already even be something going on there! I'm sure she'd love an invite!" the blond laughed, writing an invite and having no clue how horrendously wrong she was.

"Lady Gisela…she's easily old enough and incredibly sweet, and her hair is his favorite color…but how would he feel about dating his best friend's daughter?" she mused. "Ah well, all's fair in love and war!" she laughed as she wrote out the last invite.

Meanwhile, Gwendal's personal space had been invaded by Anissina. She originally intended to make him into a test subject again, but wound up playing counselor.

"Anissina, you know how much I love him. How do I get out of this?" Gwendal asked, angry at his own incompetence.

"I'm afraid you won't be able to 'get out of it'. You know how your mother is. However, I do have an idea that may help you." Anissina answered, smiling coyly.

"And what is that?" Gwendal inquired, cautious. Anissina's ideas could be scary.

"Play along with Lady Cecile's game as long as you have to, but as soon as you see an opening, tell him how you feel before it's too late." Anissina explained.

"That's actually a good idea. I'm surprised." The dark haired demon said seriously. The redhead glared at him.

"How incredibly funny, Gwendal. You do know I'm making your ball attire, correct?" she said coldly, a wicked smile playing upon her lips.

"What are you insinuating?" Gwendal demanded, though he had a good idea.

"In simple terms; if you don't want your clothing to look ridiculous, hold your tongue." Anissina responded.

"…Fine."

--

Lady Cecile strutted into Lord Gunter von Christ's office with a disturbingly large stack of invites. Gunter looked up just in time to keep the ex-Queen from creating an avalanche with them all.

"Oh, thank you so much! I was sure to lose control of them!" Cecile gushed. She was in a frighteningly good mood because of her plan.

"What exactly are these?" Gunter asked as he examined a few of the envelopes.

"Possible brides for Gwendal!" the blonde exclaimed. Gunter's face fell in horror, but he quickly regained composure.

"How exactly does that work?" he asked cautiously. Cecile proceeded to explain her plan, and requested that Gunter send the invitations. He made up a quick excuse and Cecile left Gunter to send them herself. The lavender-haired man locked his door and stared out the window.

"Gwendal…"

--

The lavender haired adviser was in complete turmoil that night. He skipped dinner and spent most of the evening wailing in his room. His adopted daughter, Gisela, heard about this and easily figured out the problem based on the invitation she'd received earlier. Once she convinced her father to open the door, she did her best to get the complete story out of him.

"A-and I…know he-he'll choose a...woman…" Gunter sobbed. "B-because he i-is obviously str-straight! HE'LL NEVER LOVE ME AND HE'LL CHOOSE A WOMAN AT THAT BALL!"

Gisela held her father and patted him on the back. "No, father, it will be alright…You may be surprised about Lord von Voltaire's object of affection...And you can still win him." she reassured him as best she could.

"How?" Gunter asked, his eyes sparkling.

"Make yourself absolutely stunning for that ball. Dress your best, hold your head up high, and make it so he won't be able to take his eyes off you." Gisela answered, grinning. "I'll help you get dressed. He'll be dazzled!" she finished with a wink.

--

The day of the ball soon arrived, completely with orchestral music and fancy costumes. Yuuri and Wolfram had argued for hours on who would wear a dress. Yuuri ended up losing since Wolfram had heard about his "previous experience" with women's clothes from Murata, and thus Yuuri was dressed in a mint green ball gown. He looked incredibly displeased.

Murata, on the other hand, was lucky enough to not be in drag. Of course that wasn't much of a surprise, considering his lover was Yozak. The infamous crossdresser had an elaborate crimson ball gown with gold embellishments sewn on. This amused anyone that had ever slept in a room near Yozak's after he and Ken got together, since they all knew from the noise they made that Yozak was definitely dominant in the relationship.

Dozens of young women dressed elaborately, and some rather sleazily, were chatting excitedly with each other. These were the young nobles and princesses Lady Cecile had selected as dance partners and prospective brides for Gwendal. They were discussing which of them was the most beautiful, who was most likely to win Gwendal's favor, et cetera. Lady Flynn and Gisela had both opted not to come; Flynn because running a country was more important to her and she knew she wouldn't fall in love with another man, and Gisela because she, unlike Cecile and Gwendal, knew exactly how much her father really loved the man that seemed to be getting auctioned off to the highest bidder, and had no way of helping him while being there. Anissina was telling as many embarrassing stories about Gwendal she could and laughing like a maniac. Some of the more superficial girls left in disgust at some things Anissina brought up.

Heads turned as a beautiful male figure strode confidently into the room. He was dressed in a rather tight violet top laced with lilac ruffles and a long flowing skirt that matched the top and clung tightly to his hips and legs, as opposed to the favored skirts flared out with petticoats. The women that had never met Gwendal or Gunter and weren't able to recognize them thought this man was Gwendal and began chattering excitedly about his good looks.

"Lady Cecile told me that her son was gorgeous, and boy, is he ever!" one woman that looked as though she should be on the street corner rather than in an aristocratic ball purred, licking her lips like an animal. Several others agreed.

"You expect to win Gwendal's heart, but you don't even know who he is?" Anissina laughed coldly. "That" she pointed to Gunter, "is Lord Gunter von Christ, Gwendal's best friend…and they may possibly be more." she winked. This disturbed some of the unwholesome-looking ladies enough for them to take Gunter's sudden turn and gaze in their direction as a cue to get out.

"Ugh, I'd NEVER go with a man that's been with ANOTHER MAN!" one of them announced loudly. Anissina about died laughing.

By the time Gwendal himself actually did arrive, the group of "brides-to-be" had drastically thinned out thanks to Anissina. He was clad in a deep green suit embroidered with silver designs. His mother had insisted a silver dragon be embroidered along the right side of the front of the coat, though Gwendal protested in favor of a kitty. His mother won, however, and a long, thin, small-winged dragon was sewn down the right side. Lord Gwendal von Voltaire looked absolutely livid as his mother dragged him towards the young ladies.

"Ladies, this is my son, Lord Gwendal von Voltaire!" Lady Cecile beamed. Gwendal scowled. His mother smacked him, chastising him for being unsociable, and he begrudgingly smiled. The girls about swooned, except Anissina and the hooker-ish woman that had thought Gunter was Gwendal. She stared into Gwendal's eyes, not wanting to waver in the least. She wanted to have the behavior that set her apart from the other girls and would make her into his bride. Lady Cecile noticed her intent gaze and grinned at her.

"Oh, Lady Bella! I'm so glad you could attend! Would you like the first dance with Gwendal?" she gushed, somehow loving the idea of this prospective prostitute marrying her son.

"I'd be honored." Bella purred. Yep, Gwendal was being sold to the highest bidder. All of the other girls besides Anissina glowered at Bella, who smirked at them, leading Gwendal to the dance floor. Gwendal ruefully noted Gunter dancing with a handsome young man from a nearby province as he was nearly dragged out to dance. Bella attempted to make conversation with Gwendal, mostly lewd comments and attempts to get him to ditch the party and sleep with her, but she was met with cold, harsh silence. She lasted one dance.

"You really must be gay!" she snarled, turning on her heel and leaving in a huff. Gwendal began to make a bee line for Gunter, who was chatting with a young woman at the refreshment table, but was rapidly whisked away by his mother, who proceeded to pair him with different women to dance with. This went on for most of the night, none of the girls besides Anissina making it past one and a half songs to dance with Gwendal before his icy demeanor terrified them into leaving. Anissina only got two full songs in, which was merely because Gwendal was asking her how to proceed with Gunter.

Gwendal had watched Gunter out of the corners of his eyes the entire time. He'd danced with that handsome young man far too many times, and Gwendal was getting nervous. His mother was running out of girls, as well. She dragged him over to the last young woman and insisted the band play a slow song. About a quarter of the way into the sonata the band was playing, Gwendal spotted Gunter dancing incredibly close with that same man. He swallowed hard, fought back the tears, and did his best not to get sick…then he felt his blood boil. He wouldn't give Gunter up without a fight!

"Excuse me, miss. There's something I must take care of." He whispered to his dance partner. These were the kindest words he'd said all night. The woman knew this and blushed, stepping aside for Gwendal to do whatever it was that was so urgent. Gwendal briskly walked across the dance floor and up onto a slightly elevated platform. It had been placed there for Gwendal to dance with the girl he'd chosen in front of everyone, but that was not what would be happening.

"STOP!" Gwendal roared as loud as possible, which was quite loud, since he was used to commanding an army. The entire room was instantly silent. Everyone's eyes automatically went to the man standing before them.

"Ladies and gentlemen…I have...an important announcement to make this evening." Gwendal continued, toning down the volume a little and doing his best not to waver. "As I'm sure most of you know, the purpose of this evening was for me to choose a mate…and I have chosen." He said calmly. He paused for a long time. The remaining women and Lady Cecile were all staring anxiously and breathing erratically. Certainly, none of them expected what was about to happen…except Lady Anissina.

"Lord Gunter von Christ, would you please come up here?" he said finally, trying to exude confidence, even though he was completely terrified. The women all gasped in surprise, some of the remaining prospective brides in horror. Cecile was in shock, and Anissina smirked. Gunter froze and stared at Gwendal. He mouthed the word "me?" and Gwendal nodded. Slowly, Gunter made his way to the platform--to Gwendal. Once Gunter was standing next to him, Gwendal continued his speech. He was now speaking to Gunter personally, but making certain everyone else could hear him.

"Gunter. For 40 years I have longed to be with you, to be by your side…as the one you love. I've been too afraid to admit this to you until now. You've seen me in battle and I probably seemed fearless then, but the thought of you rejecting me is frightening beyond belief. Now it's time for me to throw away my fears and be a man." his confession got steadily softer as it progressed. When he stopped, he stared into Gunter's eyes for a few seconds before raising his arm and striking Gunter across the left cheek.

"Lord Gunter von Christ, will you marry me?" he asked, almost pleaded. Gunter stared at him for several seconds before what just happened sunk in. Gwendal was about to apologize when Gunter pulled him into a strong embrace and a passionate kiss.

Gwendal's arms wrapped around Gunter's waist as he pulled the other man close. Gunter held tight to Gwendal's neck as he opened his mouth, allowing Gwendal's tongue entrance. Their tongues battled for dominance as the fires of passion consumed them both. They broke apart, breathing heavily and staring into each other's eyes. Everyone else in the room had melted out of their consciousness. As far as they were concerned, it was now just the two of them and the ground that held them up.

"I love you." they whispered in unison. As soon as that was said, the band began playing, and the pair instinctively began to dance. Everyone watched the two glide across the floor, lost to the world around them and so wrapped up in their love.

Once the song ended, the newly engaged couple made their way down the stairs and through the ballroom, absolutely glowing with happiness and love for each other. Lady Cecile was waiting for them at the exit.

"Gwennie! WHY didn't you TELL me you were already interested in someone?!" she demanded, glaring at her son.

"I tried, mother. I tried." Gwendal answered in his usual serious, semi-angry tone. "Now, if you don't mind, my fiancé and I have…important matters to attend to." He winked at Gunter as he said this. Gunter blushed slightly as his smile transformed into a grin. Anissina smirked knowingly while Lady Cecile started cheering and calling out advice to her son, who made great speed in taking Gunter away from his mother and into his room.