To say that Shin Makoku was somewhat melancholy about the permanent departure of the Maou would be a complete understatement. In truth, Yuuri's absence from the country had made absolutely everyone desperately, achingly lonely, and the dreariness of winter wasn't helping matters at all.
And although this feeling was felt throughout the land, those who had known Yuuri well, those who dealt with him on a daily basis, those who had taught him, and those who had reluctantly and sometimes entirely involuntarily fallen in love with the young Maou … well, it goes without saying that those people felt it the worst.
Gunter, who had long since declared his complete and utter devotion to the Maou had taken to carrying around dozens of handkerchiefs, as he had burst out crying in the most inappropriate of situations since Yuuri had left – usually in the middle of sensible conversations, which exasperated everyone to the extreme.
Gwendal had taken to shutting himself inside his office and working even harder than he usually did. When asked about it, he would simply say that somebody needed to look after the country, seeing as the Maou couldn't anymore.
Yozak and Conrad would often stay up late, drinking and reminiscing about all the grand times under King Yuuri's rule. As time went on, and they became progressively drunker, they became unfit company for anyone but each other as the topic of conversation became scattered, unidentifiable, sometimes ludicrous, and often completely inappropriate for children and dignified Mazoku.
However, out of the entire castle's inhabitance, the Maoh's fiancée's reaction to his leaving was the worst.
Wolfram von Bielefeld had always been gossiped about; being a beautiful son of the former Maou, a pureblooded Mazoku and a fearsome and dedicated soldier in his own right had made certain of everyone wanting to know about the blonde boy.
But since Yuuri had left, Wolfram's behaviour had become entirely unacceptable for a young son of the royal family. The blonde boy had never been much of a social butterfly, but as of late, he was attending parties and balls every night, staying out late, and worst of all, turning up to each social function with a different suitor.
Indeed … Wolfram von Bielefeld was growing up to be exactly like his mother.
When chastised about his behaviour, he simply shrugged and refused to admit doing wrong; and really, he wasn't doing anything wrong. When it came to intimacy, Wolfram was almost childlike in how innocent he was.
Gunter, who took offence to Wolfram's flings, however innocent they might be, would follow the blonde boy around for hours, ranting about infidelity and what the proper behaviour of the Maou's fiancée's should be.
His conduct was so dissimilar to his normal self, that his family decided that it was just his way of showing his grief over his fiancée leaving, and decided to leave him to it. However, knowing that Wolfram was only having a bit of innocent fun, his brothers. But of course, he would have a legion of bodyguards to act as chaperones and to protect him from his suitors' obviously unwanted advances.
Gwendal and Conrad had no doubt that if Yuuri were to find out about his fiancee's actions, he would be shocked; Wolfram had constantly accused Yuuri of cheating, and his current behaviour was so hypocritical that his brothers didn't know what to think. Cheri simply said that it was heartbreak, and it was how Wolfram had learnt to deal with it.
Wolfram was the one who had always put more effort into the relationship. He was the one who actually wanted the engagement. Wolfram followed Yuuri everywhere, even across the ocean, because he cared. He would do anything for Yuuri.
Wolfram craved Yuuri's attention and threw tantrums when he didn't get it. Wolfram yearned for an official engagement, and a wedding. He was possibly the most insecure person in Shin Makoku, and he wanted Yuuri to take their engagement seriously
But most pitifully of all, Wolfram longed for Yuuri to love him back.
His brothers didn't understand the social functions, the flock of discarded beaus, the conduct so similar to his mother's, or his peculiar way of grieving for his fiancée … but Conrad at least, was prepared to be sympathetic, while Gwendal was taking the 'tough love' approach. After all, a little brother will always be cute, even when he is over 80 years old. Especially when he's had his heart broken.
&love&
Wolfram had been dragged along to check the progress of the restoration of Shinou's Temple with Gunter, Gwendal and Conrad.
"Repairs to the walls seem to be progressing quite well," Gunter said cheerfully.
Wolfram however, was quite perplexed. "Doesn't it seem a bit pointless to restore the Shinou Temple now that Shinou is gone?"
"His Majesty Shinou may not be here, but I believe he is watching over us from somewhere," a quite, feminine voice said gently, and yet reprimanding.
"Um," was all that the blonde boy said, suitably chagrined.
"That will be a source of comfort for the people," Gunter said, ignoring Wolfram (as he had since the boy had started dating others and ignored Gunter's scolding). "Now that His Majesty Yuuri is gone, everyone is feeling lonely."
Wolfram looked at the ground and willed himself not to show emotion, knowing his brothers were watching him closely, regardless how carefully they tried to hide their concern (or in Gwendal's case, contempt). He hadn't cried since he was small, and he wasn't going to start now.
"We don't have such time to involve ourselves in such sentiments," Gwendal said sternly, and Wolfram knew he had failed to keep his emotions from showing. "We must decide soon who the next Maou will be for our nation's stability."
And, as if he had been trying to pretend Yuuri's leaving had been a dream, reality hit Wolfram. Hard. "But brother, that's…"
"Yuuri." Conrad said, although whether he was finishing Wolfram's sentence, or lost in his own thoughts, no one knew.
&love&
In the time that he had been away from Shin Makoku, Yuuri had found a sort of balance within himself, which he suspected might be the result of some serious soul searching and reflection throughout his time away from his kingdom. Regardless of how he had found this equilibrium, it had changed everything for him.
Yuuri had chosen to return to Earth because he feared he might never see his family again … yet he had found, to his absolute astonishment, that the person he missed the most, the person who he was afraid he would never see again, was none other than his fiancée.
He had been stunned by the revelation … after all, Wolfram had always been something of an annoyance to Yuuri. He threw tantrums, didn't trust anyone easily, followed him everywhere, constantly yelled at him, was constantly jealous, and always wanted Yuuri's undivided attention.
His actions had led everyone to believe that Wolfram was nothing more than a spoiled brat. And yet in the time that Yuuri had known Wolfram, he had found him to be a completely different person when he opened up. Wolfram was confliction itself.
Wolfram threw tantrums only when he knew what he was arguing for was the right thing to do. He didn't trust easily because it was the way he had been raised … Wolfram was a soldier, and a member of the royal family at that. Of course he didn't welcome strangers with open arms. He yelled at Yuuri because sometimes that was the only way he could get the Maou to listen to him.
Probably most surprisingly of all, Wolfram was constantly jealous and always wanted Yuuri's undivided attention because he was secretly and deeply insecure. In Wolfram's mind, when he didn't get Yuuri's attention, it was because Yuuri was more interested in someone else, who was stronger, smarter or more beautiful than the blonde boy, and when women and men draped themselves over the Maou, Yuuri was more interested in them because they were better than Wolfram.
Yuuri was sure that no one could understand what Wolfram was thinking (hell, the Maou himself barely did), but he had come to the realisation that the blonde simply had impossibly high expectations of himself.
And the more Yuuri began to understand this creature, the more he missed him.
&love&
"We've gone to Shin Makoku from here before, too." Yuuri was saying as he gazed into the pond. "I wonder how everyone is."
Mindless of Murata standing behind him, he leaned over and gazed into the water. Although he hadn't said it out loud, he really did miss his country, his people, his advisors and most of all his fiancée.
It was slightly ironic, that a few days ago, when he could have seentouchedtastedloved Wolfram, he would have completely denied this. And now, when it was impossible for him to see the blonde again –
All of a sudden, he lost his balance. He yelled in shock as he was tipped into the water, looking back to see Murata standing there, his hand outstretched as he'd just been caught in the act of pushing Yuuri into the body of water.
The water swirled around him, and he saw no more.
&love&
He emerged from the water later, spluttering and coughing, Murata behind him.
His jaw dropped and he sat there, in all-encompassing astoundment as he stared at the faces of the friends he had thought he would never see again.
He asked quiet, stilted questions from Murata, receiving the answer that he could now move from world to world without Shinou's help, and Murata hadn't known before, but he was thinking 'well, maybe this might work' as he pushed Yuuri in.
As he finished his explanation, their friends regained their ability to speak and act.
Gwendal expressed his contentment with not having to find a heir, Gunter babbled on about being delighted to be able to see his beloved Maou again, and Conrad simply smiled and welcomed the Maou back home.
Wolfram just stood there. His mouth trembled, his cheeks were flushed, and it looked as if he was barely restraining himself from crying.
Knowing that Wolfram would start yelling at him soon so that he didn't cry, Yuuri pulled himself up and walked over to his fiancée, whose jaw had dropped.
"My bishōnen." he murmured as he opened his arms.
And Wolfram von Bielefeld near fainted from shock, which made it necessary to collapse into his fiancée's embrace.
&love&
Wolfram was so happy about Yuuri coming back (and that embrace!) that he had forgotten to be embarrassed about almost fainting like a girl. He was smiling to himself as he patted his mare's neck.
Given his reputation of flirting with young, handsome men now, it figured that at least five men were bold enough to shout out a greeting, while dozens more smiled and waved at Wolfram as they were riding back to the castle.
He nodded back, blushing as he felt Yuuri's curious gaze on him.
One man (his date from the previous week's ball, if Yuuri recalled correctly) was even so daring as to approach Wolfram and start a conversation. The Mazoku prince was polite, but firm in rejecting the man's subtle overtures, and in the end, he simply smiled and shrugged, before taking his leave.
To Wolfram's concern, Gunter had sidled up to Yuuri during Wolfram's conversation, and they were now conversing in hushed whispers, ever so often sneaking a glance at Wolfram.
The happiness warming him turned to dread, and it coiled in the pit of his stomach.
&love&
Yuuri had ignored Wolfram for the rest of the night, choosing instead to converse with his brothers, mother, daughter or Gunter. Not once had he said something to Wolfram since the ride back to the castle.
He hadn't even looked at Wolfram.
The Mazoku prince found himself deeply hurt by this, and took his frustrations out on his dinner.
"Don't play with your food, Wolfie, darling." his mother scolded.
He flushed as everyone looked at him (except Yuuri, he noticed, his heart sinking to the floor before being stomped on repeatedly by his mothers ten inch stilettos), mumbled an apology, and excused himself from the table, feigning a headache.
He acted as normally, walking at a dignified speed out of the dining room, and closed the door quietly behind him. And that was just about as long as the act could last.
He tore down the hall, up the stairs, and threw the door open to his bedroom before slamming it behind him and leaning against it. As he recalled the cold shoulder Yuuri had presented to him, he slid down the door and hid his face in his hands.
He had been so completely happy when Yuuri had approached him when he'd come back, when Wolfram had been given a greeting meant just for him.
He was the third and youngest son in the royal family and Wolfram didn't often get attention that was meant exclusively for him. People wanted to be near him because of his brothers, mother, lineage, power and fame. He was often ignored when his family was in the picture because he was the youngest and most inexperienced of all.
Even the young men that had vied for his attention while Yuuri had been away didn't want anything to do with Wolfram himself. They wanted to be seen with the former Maou's youngest son, the current Maou's fiancée.
When Yuuri had embraced him and called him the word for beautiful in his Earth language, it had given Wolfram hope that he was good enough to be noticed just for being himself.
And he'd ruined that already.
He felt the anguish deep in his chest and dissolved into silent tears before he could stop himself, hating himself for the weakness.
&love&
Much later, there was a loud rap at the door. Wolfram started and reached for his sword, wakened from a slumber brought on by exhaustion.
He wiped his face, paranoid about being caught out crying. Again.
The blonde Mazoku opened the door just as the rapping started again.
"His Majesty requests you to attend his study immediately." the servant at the door said expressionlessly, although Wolfram detected a hint of envy in her voice.
If only you knew, he thought wryly, and bade her to leave after responding affirmatively.
He glimpsed in the mirror as he passed out of his chamber, and was relieved to see that there was no redness or swelling from crying. He scrubbed his face with his handkerchief to reassure himself that no one would know, and set off to the Maou's chambers.
&love&
The Maou sat contemplating his fiancée as the blonde boy fidgeted in the armchair directly opposite him.
He had been silent after he told Wolfram to come in. He knew that Wolfram had guessed that Gunter had told him all about Wolfram's little trysts on the way up to the castle. Perhaps keeping the blonde in such suspense was cruel, but Yuuri was shocked at his behaviour.
Wolfram licked his lips, seemingly bolstering his courage. "I am glad you are back, Heika."
"Oh?" the Maou asked, his eyebrows arched. His tone was sarcastic, but he now knew that Wolfram had indeed done the things Gunter had said he had. Wolfram was only deferential when he felt guilty.
"The people have been out of sorts without their sovereign." the blonde boy said simply.
Yuuri carefully and purposefully closed the folders and put the paperwork away on his desk and leaned back. The room subsided back into silence.
"Heika … is there anything you particularly wanted to speak to me about?" Wolfram asked carefully.
"Now that you've asked … yes. Just one thing." the Maou replied, keeping his tone bland.
The blonde boy looked hopeful, perhaps thinking he was going to get away with his conduct.
"Yes?"
"The matter of hypocrisy."
Wolfram looked taken aback. "I beg your pardon?"
"Hypocrisy. To be more precise, double standards. Also … infidelity."
"Ah."
"That's all you have to say for yourself?"
"What do you want me to say, Yuuri?"
"I want you to tell me what the hell you were thinking!" Yuuri yelled, his semblance of calm gone.
Wolfram remained silent.
"NOW!"
"It was only dancing."
"It wasn't only dancing. It was dancing with different men every night. Gunter told me you needed a legion of chaperones to protect your family from shame."
Wolfram's jaw dropped. "Why that two-faced, judgemental, jealous git! It was only dancing – there was nothing sordid about it at all! Gwendal and Conrad made those soldiers follow be around in case someone tried to assassinate me or something! And I didn't even need their protection; most of them were dancing too!"
"Wolfram, you would have thrown a tantrum and tried to strangle me if I ever danced one person besides you, let alone hundreds of them!"
"Oh, so this isn't about you and me at all, it's just about the fact that you're engaged to a person you hate, and you don't like being 'tied down' to one person."
"I didn't say that! I said that you're being hypocritical!"
"No I'm not, because there's a difference."
"Oh? And what would that be?"
"I didn't think you were ever coming back. And ... It matters if you dance with others because you've never even w–w–wanted the engagement." he cried, choked. "None of those men matter because the only person I have ever wanted is my fiancée, who despite everything has never wanted me back."
"Wolfram, that isn't true –"
He stood up abruptly, knocking the chair over and stumbled to the door, wrenching the handle and running away.
He had made it half way to the stables before Yuuri, faster and longer-legged, caught up. He caught Wolfram's wrist in one hand and pulled the blonde boy back.
"Let go of me!" Wolfram yelled, trying to tug his wrist away. He struggled and thrashed, but Yuuri was stronger and had a grip of iron, and the Mazoku Prince found himself unable to get away.
"What do you want from me?" he snapped, eyes flashing.
His indignant anger turned to confusion when he saw Yuuri's expression. The tender half-smile the Maou was directing straight at him left him bewildered and vulnerable.
"What?" he mumbled.
"Come on," the Maou said gently. "It's the middle of winter. You'll catch a cold out here with only your nightgown on."
If he wasn't quite so confused, Wolfram would have told him that not everyone was a wimp like Yuuri, and being a fire elemental he would be warm enough.
But then Yuuri put his arm around the Mazoku, presumably to keep him warm, and led him back up to the castle, and Wolfram forgot about any cutting remark he might have made.
&love&
"I thought you were mad at me."
Yuuri had taken him to the Maou's room and was currently changing into his nightclothes in the adjoining bathroom.
After a moment, Yuuri stepped out and closed the door behind him.
"I was … but I overreacted. Gunter told me and I forgot he exaggerates everything. I'm sorry."
Pause.
"What you said before you stormed out … I know that I've made you feel that I don't want the engagement –"
"If you truly wish to break the engagement, Gunter would be more than happy to assist you. However, as you found out when you first proposed, there is no easy way of doing so, and I will certainly not help you try to detach yourself from me." Wolfram said tonelessly.
"Will you listen to me instead of jumping to conclusions?" the Maou snapped.
Wolfram blinked and looked at him.
"I know that I've made you feel like I don't want the engagement, but in the time that I couldn't come back, I've been thinking –"
Wonders will never cease, Wolfram wanted to say.
"And I know now, without a doubt that I want the engagement, and I want you. I'm sorry I hurt you, Wolf. I never meant to make you feel like you're not wanted."
Silence greeted his statement.
"Wolfram?"
"Is this a joke?"
"Of course not!"
"Then do … do you really mean that?" Wolfram asked, sounding almost afraid to hear the answer.
Yuuri crossed the room. "I do," he confirmed, and then kissed Wolfram very chastely and very deliberately on the lips.
"I love you, Wolf." the Maou whispered.
Wolfram's subsequent sweet smile lit up the room. "I love you too … wimp."