Title: Insomnia

Author: Niu Shiy-Ue

Disclaimer: If I owned KKM, I would have hired a much better singer for the opening song. He sounds like a drunken salariman kareoking!

Rating: PG-13

Pairing: I did intend it to be a Conrad/Wulfram, but I suppose it could pass a brotherly affection rather than incest. I'm on sort of an incest kick right now.

Warnings: Some OOC on Wulfram's part.

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"Stop your whining Gunter. It's obvious that Yuuri's returned to his world." Gunter stopped fine-combing the pool at Blood Pledge Castle and started glaring at Wulfram instead.

"One would think that His Majesty's fiancee would be the one most interested in verifying his whereabouts. But I guess that's what comes of being a fire-channeler. How are you going to consumate your relationship if you can't stand water, when that's His Majesty's signature element?"

"I don't mind water, Gunter. At least not in managable amounts." Wulfram turned and started walking away. "Besides, how would Yuuri be hiding in that pool? It doesn't even come up to his knees."

"Brat" Gunter climbed out of the fountain and started squeegying out his cloak and his hair. "So Wulfram, where are you going to sleep tonight since His Majesty isn't here?"

"In the barracks, of course."

Gwendal, who had been silently watching them snipe at each other interrupted, "You don't need to do that, Wulfram. You do have a room of your own here."

"Feh. I don't need to be mollycoddled Gwendal."

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Conrad waved his dismissal of Gwendal's men. His shift for the night was over and now Yozak would be out on patrol with Wulfram's guard. He was looking forward to a good night's rest, especially since Yuuri (and more importantly all the crisises that he brought with him) had gone back to his world. "Conrad, there you are." He turned and smiled at his older brother. "Was there something you needed, Gwendal?"

The permanent frown lines on Gwendal's face deepened. "Yes" He waved over to a small courtyard. "Could you get Wulfram to go to sleep? You're the only one who has even a remote chance of being listened to."

"My pleasure." Conrad walked out to the small courtyard and watched his younger brother. Wulfram was practicing with his sword, going through katas and exercises with a grim expression on his face. "It's been a tough week. Shouldn't you be asleep?"

Parry, feint, lunge. "Not tired."

Back, block, lunge again. "It's late. You have dark circles under your eyes. Yes, you are."

Swing, parry, block. "I need the practice. I'll go to bed when I'm tired."

Swing, shift, lunge. "You can practice after you've gotten some rest."

Shift, guard, block. "I said I'm not tired! I don't need to listen to you!"

CLANG! Wulfram's sword went spinning off into the underbrush. He stared after it but made no move to retreive it. "I told you, your grip on the hilt is always too loose." Conrad sheathed his sword, then went over and picked up Wulfram's. He didn't give it back, however, instead he held out his free hand. They stayed like this for a minute or so, then Wulfram passed over his sheath. Only then did Conrad return both to their owner. He stepped up and embraced Wulfram. "Let's go to bed."

Wulfram followed him obediantly through the dark corridors until they finally reached his room. Conrad placed both swords within easy reach of the bed, then watched his younger brother. "You don't have to stay."

"I want to make sure you actually do go to bed, and don't simply stay up all night reading those majik texts. The ones your hiding in your nightstand."

"Then do you have to watch me get undressed!?!"

"Yes." Wulfram turned away and opened his wardrobe. He pulled out his sleep wear and slowly took off his uniform. He tried to ignore the sounds of moving cloth behind him. When he finally turned back, Conrad had removed his boots and shirt, and was lying on his bed in just his pants. Wulfram flushed, "I am most certainly not sleeping with you!"

"Wulfram . . . " Conrad was actually beginning to sound frustrated.

"I'm not a weakling! No matter what you and Gwendal think!"

"I never said you were. Listen, I won't touch you or anything, I'm just here in case you need me."

"Well . . . alright." Wulfram then got into bed, but stayed as far away from Conrad as possible. It wasn't long before he fell asleep.

"Stoffel . . . no, don't . . . I'm not a wimp . . . leave her alone . . . STOP! JULIA!"(1) Conrad leaned over and shook his brother harshly. "NO STOFFEL! JULIA!" For a second Wulfram's green eyes shone pure panic, not a hint of recognition. Then he realized who was holding him. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." he kept whispering over and over.

"Ssshhh." Conrad quickly pulled Wulfram into a hug. He shivered; Wulfram's skin was ice cold. Wulfram was a strong magic user, but his power had come too early. It had stunted his growth and sucked all the energy out of his body.(2) Wulfram always carried a small supply of candy on him in case he needed a quick boost, and when he had been younger he had clung to people to leech off their body heat. Now he felt himself too old for that habit, but Conrad was grateful for it. It made things easier. "It's not your fault. You did your best."

"Conrad . . . do you hate me?"

"No, of course not. You're my little brother."

"But it's my fault that Julia died. And you loved her."

"But you tried to save her. And . . . at least one of you survived."

"It should have been her."

"She knew it was her time." Conrad leaned back carefully until he was lying down again, with Wulfram's head over his heart.. He felt Wulfram's breath, quick and shallow on his bare chest, and the fast, thready beat of his heart. They felt so fragile, especially when compared the slow, steady pace of his. He raised one hand and stroked his brother's soft, blonde hair. They stayed like this for a while.

"I'm not a wimp."

"No you're not."

A pause.

"You won't tell anyone about this, will you?"

"I won't."

"And it's only till Yuuri gets back. I sleep better with him anyway." At this Conrad did laugh. "Sure, and I bet your bed get's that way from all the great sex you two have."

"Conrad!"

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AN: This all rose out of the following question: when Yuuri's away, where does Wulfram sleep? My answer: with Conrad, of course. I don't think anyone else agrees with this answer, but what the heck. I wanted to give some possible answers for other questions as well. Why, if Wulfram's so against his and Yuuri's engagement, does he sleep in Yuuri's bed? Answer, because he has issues or flashbacks with the past war and needs reassurance, even if it's with a reluctant fiancee. Why does Wulfram hate Conrad so much, when they clearly had a close relationship at one point? And especially when he doesn't have nearly as much of a problem with ordinary humans? Because for some reason, he's ashamed of being so close to his brother.

I really wanted to portray another side of Wulfram's and Conrad's relationship as brothers (I don't think anyone's written anything like this yet). I really liked the nightmares. They would explain a lot of things. Maybe Wulfram isn't calling Yuuri a wimp, but protesting that he's not a wimp. Maybe the reason he thrashes around so much when asleep is because he has Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome. They also give a good reason for he and Conrad to be sleeping together. And may account for the general brattish behavior.

(1) I don't think we know enough about Julia yet to consider this a spoiler. Both Gwendal and Wulfram mention her, but it seems that Conrad was closest to her. Maybe not in love, at least I haven't gotten to that episode yet, but definitely close. I don't know what Wulfram's nightmare is about here, but in this scenario we can suppose that he actually saw her die and try to stop it. Remember, I'm making this up, so don't take it as canon.

(2) This definitely isn't in the series, at least not yet. I noticed that Wulfram is considerably smaller and more delicate than the other people in this world, not counting Yuuri and Ralph. Most likely, it's just because he hasn't gone through all of puberty yet and hasn't hit his growth spurt, but I wanted to provide an alternative explanation. Again, it's just something I completely made up.