A/N: My first shot at a one-shot. Please don't shoot me if it doesn't make sense. Plot bunnies won't leave my head, won't let me sleep until I finished this piece. I know I should be updating the other fic but I can't until I flush this story out of my system. I am proud that I finished this in one sitting. Okay, I'll stop now, its 6 am in the morning here.
Don't forget to leave a review! Thanks!
Standard disclaimer applies.
The List
Radcliffe Bass
Shibuya Yuuri, 27th Maou of Shin Makoku was six years old when he first learned the meaning of the word "decision". It was the week before his birthday and Shori brought him to the toy store so he can choose his gift. It would have been an easy task but for a child inside toy heaven, well, one can only imagine. After a few hours inside the toy store, the brothers left empty-handed and frustrated. That same day, Shori taught him the art of decision making.
When he reached middle school, Yuuri found himself in the same fix, although the situation is a bit more serious than choosing a birthday gift. During that time there was a gap between the brothers' relationship so Yuuri decided not to seek for Shori's advice; he went to his father instead. After telling his father the problem at hand, Shibuya Shouma smiled; he handed him a piece of paper and a pen and taught him the art of weighing consequences.
At fifteen, he is once again faced with a dilemma, a beautiful crisis named Wolfram von Bielefield and this time Shori and Shouma cannot help. However, this handicap will not hinder him from fulfilling his destiny. So with a resolve born out of desperation and guidance from two of the most important persons in his life, Yuuri sat down on his office chair and started making a list. He was halfway through the list when Murata Ken decided to give his best friend a visit. One look at the double black king's creased forehead and the words written on the paper he knew that his friend would more than welcome his sagely advice.
Now at eighteen, Yuuri is tagged as the greatest and wisest Maou of Shin Makoku. The decisions and beliefs he promoted brought peace to the war weary country. So how come he's in the dining room of the Shibuya residence on Earth, staring at a weathered paper like an idiot?
"Penny for your thoughts?" Shori asked his younger brother as he sat beside him. Yuuri blinked, "How long have you been here?"
"Not too long," he eyed the paper that held his brother's attention earlier. He can barely make out the headings on the two columns done on the paper but he is quite positive that he has seen the name 'Wolfram' written on both. "So what are you doing just now?" he asked. "Not that you need to tell me, just curious though."
Yuuri looked at his brother and sighed, "I'm making a list." He saw his brother's eyebrow arch up in question. "I always make a list when I am faced with tough decisions, an old habit I learned from you and Dad," he explained. The older Shibuya nodded in understanding.
"Nice to know you learned something from your old man," a voice interrupted from the stairs. Both looked up and saw their father; the oldest Shibuya made his way to them and sat on the chair on Yuuri's other side.
The young king smiled, "Yeah."
"So what's this "tough decision" about?" Shouma asked his youngest son.
Yuuri grinned at them, "Uhm, it's about Wolfram."
"What about?" Shouma asked.
"How do I explain this?" Yuuri paused and thought for a moment. "I know." He picked up the paper he was staring at a while ago and handed it over to Shori. He saw Shori's eyes skim through the words written on the paper before he passed it over to their father. They waited for a few seconds before Shouma spoke.
"Yuuri, I think it's time Shori and I teach you the age old secret rules of the Shibuya family." The young king looked at his father and brother in confusion, but no one cared to explain. He was about to ask when Shori cut him off.
"There are three golden rules we Shibuya's should take into consideration when faced with life-changing decisions. Rule number one, choose the option that brings the greater good because every decision that we make affect others."
"But--" Yuuri started to protest but was cut off by Shouma. "Rule number two, if the problem is too big to carry alone; share it. The more the merrier."
"Rule number three," a female voice interrupted from the stairs. The Shibuya men all looked up to see Miko. She smiled and made her way towards the three men. "If the problem involves matters of the heart, disregard the list because you will always find the other half of the page empty, which is a good thing."
Yuuri tilted his head at Miko's direction, he can feel the beginnings of a headache from all the confusing rules they relayed. Miko smiled at Yuuri's reaction. "Love knows no reason Yuuri, because if it does, everyone would just stop loving once the reason seizes to exist," she walked behind her son and glanced at the list. She smiled when she saw the column titled "Reasons Why I Love Wolfram" empty. She kissed the top of his head and said, "Alright, time to go back to sleep!"
Shouma and Shori stood up and followed Miko. Yuuri looked at his list once more and smiled as the anxiety and worry slowly made its way out of his system. He yawned and joined his family at the stairs.
"Thanks everyone," he said as he gave each one a hug. "Rule number four," Yuuri stated as the other three members of the Shibuya family looked at him in confusion, "do not make any more Shibuya family rules, it's confusing even if it makes sense!"
"Agreed," the other three conceded as they all made their way back into their bedrooms.
Wolfram von Bielefield anxiously paced in front of Yuuri's desk as he waited for the double black king to arrive. Almost half an hour had passed since the king returned from Earth and the first words that came out from his lips was an order for Wolfram to wait for him in his office. Although it confused (and frightened) the blond prince, he cannot disobey a direct order. So here he is right now waiting for his late, no not just late but very, very late fiancé.
Wolfram sighed and sat down on a chair. 'Fiancé,' he thought sadly. It's been four years since Yuuri accidentally proposed to him and by Shin Makoku standards it was long enough for the engagement to reach a turning point. They had both forgotten about it since they started to get along pretty well for the past few years, that is, until Gunter von Kleist reminded them.
The reminder felt like a bucket of ice cold water was dumped on his head, and he was quite sure that Yuuri felt the same way. Right after Gunter's announcement, Yuuri decided to visit Earth, probably to sort things out. That was a month ago, and now that he's back, Wolfram cannot feel anything but anxiety. He knew from the moment that Yuuri's head appeared on the fountain, the way he calmly approached him and ordered him without as much as a greeting that Yuuri have already decided. He sighed once more, whatever path Yuuri chose, he must respect and obey it like the loyal subject that he is, no matter how painful it might be for him.
His thoughts were interrupted when the door opened; he stood up and gasped when he saw Yuuri. The young king had never looked so happy since he first set foot on Shin Makoku, and he had a really bad feeling that the smile on the king's face had something to do with the engagement.
"Wolfram," Yuuri smiled at the blond prince. "How have you been?" He smiled back, "I'm fine wimp! What took you so long?" he complained as he tried to lighten the mood.
"I got sidetracked," the king grinned, he motioned Wolfram to take the seat in front of him, the soldier obliged. "Are we waiting for anyone?" he inquired.
"No, at least not yet," Yuuri replied as he took something out of his pocket. He took a deep breath before he walked towards Wolfram's direction. "You know I love you right?" Yuuri asked the blonde mazoku.
He smiled, "Of course, you love me as a friend." The king returned his smile and he saw a glint of mischievousness on his onyx eyes. "You know why I asked you to meet me here?"
'Here it goes,' he thought and nodded in response.
"Good," Yuuri nodded in return. "Before I start, please promise me that you'll first listen okay? I won't order you to listen because I trust you." The prince nodded once more, Yuuri smiled and spoke, "Okay, here goes..." He handed him a piece of paper, Wolfram accepted it and started to open it.
"When I am stressed out over something, I always make a list like that so that I can decide if I am doing the right thing. It's an old habit of mine that I find very useful." Yuuri explained as he read something about the pros and cons of a war written on the paper. "Anyway, when I was fifteen, I started a list that only Murata and I know of. I stopped updating after sometime since it looked like the problem was solved until recently. Do you know what that list was about?"
Wolfram felt his heartbeat go on overdrive before he answered, "Our engagement?"
"Sort of," Yuuri gave him another piece of paper, he took it and opened it; his hands trembled as he read the headings of the two columns. Tears threatened to fall as he read the long list of reasons that Yuuri wrote why he does not love him. His heart sank to his feet when he saw the other column devoid of words to justify why the young king should consider having feelings for him.
"When I was on Earth, I told myself that if I can write just one reason, just on tiny or even silly reason why I love you, I can finally come to terms with my emotions and feelings for you," Yuuri continued, Wolfram's head remained bowed as he listened. "But every time I think of something, I find myself staring at the paper and cannot write anything even if my life depended on it."
Wolfram took a deep breath; he felt his heart break into tiny pieces at the words. He wanted nothing more than to stand up and leave, but he made a promise.
"So I almost gave up and resigned myself to the fact that I am indeed a wimp and would just probably marry you to--"
"Stop it! I understand! Just break it off if you want to; I don't care just don't..." Wolfram shouted; a pained expression etched on his handsome face. He stood up and raised his head to meet Yuuri's gaze. He is angry, he can take the pain but he cannot accept the insult! He gasped when he saw Yuuri grinning at him...seductively?
The flames that were present in Wolfram's eyes earlier were replaced by confusion as he saw Yuuri walking towards him, the seductive smile never leaving his lips. Wolfram's heart pounded heavily on his chest as Yuuri closed the distance between them. The king traced a finger on his lips, tentatively moving upward until his hand cupped the back of his head. His other hand slowly raised his chin coaxing him to look into the twin black pools. "You promised to listen," Yuuri reminded as he placed a gentle kiss on his forehead. "Somebody told me that you do not need a reason to love somebody, you just simply love them, because if the reason no longer exists, love will no longer be there."
Yuuri caressed his left cheek; Wolfram cannot help but drown himself in the warmth. "I do not want that to happen to us, I do not want to have a reason to stop loving you. Yes Wolfram I love you, and not as a friend. I am in love with you, I don't know when or how but I know I do. If I did hurt you by writing more reasons not to love you, forgive me. I am a wimp, I admit. I--"
The king never finished his sentence as he felt soft lips crush into his. He slowly closed his eyes and let himself succumbed in the emotions communicated through the kiss. After what seemed like forever, the couple broke the kiss, gasping for air.
"Wimp," Wolfram smiled, "Quit scaring me with your words; you almost gave me a heart attack!" Yuuri smiled as he gave his fiancé a hug. "I'm sorry."
"That's not what I want to hear," Wolfram replied as he broke the hug.
"I love you."
"What? I can't hear you!" Wolfram laughed as he ran toward the balcony. Yuuri followed him and smiled, then shouted at the top of his lungs, "I LOVE YOU WOLFRAM VON BIELEFIELD!!"
"And I love you more Yuuri Shibuya," Wolfram whispered as he enveloped him in a hug and he claimed his lips for another kiss.
Outside the office, Yozak grinned at Conrad, Gwendal, Murata, Anissina, Lady Cheri and Gunter. "Alright, pay up!" the orange haired spy laughed as the six people took out gold pieces from their pockets. Gwendal groaned, he hated to lose, he was about to speak when they heard a moan from the office. His eyes widened in shock, Conrad and Yozak were quick to stop him and started to drag him away from the group before he can do anything drastic. Murata on the other hand took it upon himself to accompany the nose bleeding Gunter to the infirmary. The two ladies left smiled at each other until Lady Cheri spoke, in a voice loud enough for anyone who cared to listen to hear, "I'm starting another pool that we'll be having a new prince or princess nine months from now." Anissina placed her bet as countless cries of "Count me in!" were heard throughout the castle halls.