Disclaimer: I don't own Kyou Kara Maou, so please don't sue.
Getting Lucky
Yuuri was not in a good mood by the time he reached Shin Makoku. On foot, mind, because instead of landing in the middle of the temple, surrounded by pretty and sympathetic shrine maidens, Shinou had decided to deposit him in a rather scummy livestock watering hole about a mile out of town. It was a rather fitting entrance, however, as it was just more of the same kind of luck he'd been having since he woke up that morning. Late, because his alarm was set for p.m. and not a.m., he'd missed breakfast. As he'd peddled madly to school on his bicycle, a chill spring rain had come out of nowhere and soaked him through, and by the time he got to class, he'd already missed the pop-quiz that the teacher had decided to spring on the students.
The rest of the day had continued in a similar fashion. He'd tripped over his own feet in P.E. and had been benched with a twisted ankle. The school nurse had followed him to lunch, squawking at him whenever he'd tried to walk faster than a slow hobble, thus he had missed lunch entirely. Not that it mattered, because he'd left his lunch money on his dresser that morning with his math homework that was due the next period. So, it had pretty much been a relief when he'd bent to take a drink of water from a fountain and been sucked into the alternate world.
Now, however, Yuuri was simply not impressed. He smelled like pond, his shoes squished unpleasantly when he walked, and his twisted ankle twinged something fierce. When the wall of the city finally came into view around a bend in the road, Yuuri was so relieved, he almost dropped to his knees and cried. He quickened his pace, knowing that a good bath and seeing all his friends again would make him feel a lot better, crappy day or no. Though, maybe he'd sneak in and find Conrad first. Right now he really didn't want to have to put up with Gunter's fawning and swooning or Wolfram's jealous accusations. And Gwendal probably had a ton of paperwork built up for Yuuri to do... He slowed once more. Maybe he shouldn't be in such a hurry. After all, it wasn't so bad out here on the road by himself. He'd take his time and enjoy the reprieve.
As soon as he decided this, though, the sound of galloping hooves sounded from behind him. He spun, almost landing on his rear again when his ankle wobbled for a second. He'd just regained his balance when the horse-drawn hay-barrow surged toward him, so close that he had to fling himself backward to avoid getting trampled. He really did lose his balance then, falling backwards down the gently sloped roadside and into the ditch. After laying there for a moment, listening as the cart disappeared into the city, he heaved a heavy sigh.
"That's it. I give up. Today, I'm just going to lay in the ditch where it's safe," he muttered, flopping on his back, arms outstretched. There was a swampy mass of standing water and mud here, but Yuuri couldn't bring himself to care. It wasn't as if he hadn't spent most of this day completely drenched and sometimes smelly. He brought a hand up to brush soppy bangs from his eyes -
- And shrieked like a little girl when he saw the fat, black leech attached to the back of his hand. He ripped it off and hightailed it out of the murky water, scrambling in a very undignified way up the slope to the road again, where he sat panting and checking all his exposed skin for more leeches.
"Gross, gross, gross! What the hell is this? Yuuri's private Friday the Thirteenth? I'm going to hole myself up in the bath for a week," he declared, by now in quite possibly the worst mood he'd ever had. He heard horses again, and didn't move. They could bloody well go around him. Or trample him. See if he cared. He was tired and achy and covered in pond scum and leeches. Being trampled would just be a perfect way to end the day.
"Yuuri!"
Wolfram. Just what he needed. But at least Wolfram meant that he'd have a ride back to Covenant Castle. Yuuri stood, heavily favoring his uninjured leg. The other ankle was quite swollen by now. Trying to force a somewhat normal smile, he waited for Wolfram to halt his horse in front of him. Another set of arms wrapped around Wolfram's waist, and a blond boy peered over Wolfram's shoulder at Yuuri, who vaguely recognized him as one of Wolfram's private soldiers. He looked rather nervous for some reason. Neither was in uniform, which Yuuri thought was odd but didn't care enough to ask about it.
"Wolfram! I'm so glad to see you. I've been having the worst luck today. Could you give me a ride to the castle? I need to get cleaned up," Yuuri tried not to whine.
"We've been looking all over for you! Where have you been, you troublesome wimp?" Wolfram demanded. "You've got everyone worried again."
"It's not my fault! I don't exactly get a say where Shinou drops me off, you know," Yuuri snapped back, nerves frayed.
"Anyway, Lord Weller is right behind us. I'm sure he'll give you a ride back to the castle," Wolfram told him, giving the reigns a flip. The horse started forward again. Surprised and now getting angry at how Wolfram was blowing him off, Yuuri jumped in front of it. "Hey, what do you think you're doing?"
"Me? What about you? Who's that with you? What's going on?" Yuuri demanded.
"Oh. This is Gustav. He and I are eloping."
"Oh, I see. Congratu- Hey! Eloping? But you're always making a big deal about how we are engaged-"
"Well, did you really want to go through with it?" Wolfram asked with a shrug. "Gustav and I have been together in secret for years before I was engaged to you."
"No, I didn't want to go through with it, but you're the one who's been cheating? The entire time? Why didn't you just refuse the engagement from the start, then?"
"I didn't want to outright refuse the king. So I thought I'd play along until I got an idea of what it was you actually wanted. All that name-calling was just for show, to throw people off the scent, and judging from your expression, it worked," Wolfram replied with a cocky smirk. Then, once again, horse hooves could be heard pounding the road. Wolfram spared a shared glance behind him, then turned his horse to go around Yuuri. As he galloped away, he shouted over his shoulder, "Look, no hard feelings, right?"
Yuuri watched them disappear down the road, and couldn't decide how to feel about the whole thing. He knew he was gaping, and felt that this was an appropriate reaction. It was rather shocking, after all, but he wasn't sure whether his shotgun fiancé leaving him for another man counted as good luck or bad luck. It wasn't like he wanted to marry Wolfram, far from it. Even so, rejection was rejection, and Yuuri was reminded of all the times he'd been shot down by cute girls at school. Actually, there weren't that many times he'd been shot down, mostly because, now that he thought of it, he hadn't even really asked a girl out, ever.
Still. The principle of the thing.
"Your Majesty!" Conrad called, his own surprise coloring his voice as he reigned in his horse.
Josak, who'd been following him, drew up as well and said, "You look like hell, Your Majesty."
"Thanks for the news flash, but I know. What the hell is going on? Wolfram's eloping?" Yuuri couldn't keep the frustrated anger from his tone.
Conrad was giving him a sympathetic look. "I tried to get him to stay at least until he'd talked to you about it -"
"Well, he told me, but that's not what bothers me. He was calling me a cheater the entire time he was insisting we were together, and then he runs off with some... some..." Yuuri groped for a word and couldn't find one. "Er, some guy. What a dirty hypocrite!"
"So, you're not upset about the break up?" Josak asked, shooting a veiled glance at Conrad, who tactfully turned his head away.
"There wasn't anything to break up," Yuuri said, temper calming somewhat now that there was a good chance he'd be safely inside Covenant Castle within a few minutes. "I'm just mad he didn't say something sooner, because all this time I've been trying to think of a way to let him down gently."
Conrad blinked slowly a couple of times. Josak smiled smugly at him, and Yuuri wondered if there'd been some kind of bet that Conrad just lost. Yuuri hoped not, as it meant the bad luck that had been dogging him all day might rub off on people.
"Ah, well. There are many fish in the sea, Your Majesty, and you're sure to land a good catch," Josak said with a wink. "In the meantime, I'd better track down our little fugitive before he gets into even more hot water. I'll leave His Majesty to you, captain."
There was another smug grin as he said this, and Conrad frowned ever so slightly in return. But then the redhead was moving again, urging his horse down the road to follow the recalcitrant blond prince. Conrad watched him go, then gave his head a little shake as if to clear it before he smiled in his usual benign way at Yuuri.
"You do look a bit worse for wear, Your Majesty. Did you have a rough time when Shinou transported you here?" he asked, dismounting and leading his horse to where Yuuri stood.
Yuuri wilted, true relief flooding through him. Bad luck or no, nothing would be so bad now that Conrad was here with him. "Don't 'Your Majesty' me, I'm so not in the mood. And that's not even the half of it. Today has been one of the worst days ever, and I just want a bath, a sandwich, and to pretend the world doesn't exist for a while."
"It's been that bad? What happened?"
He began his tale of woe as Conrad helped him mount, then climbed up behind him. Once he began venting, he found it hard to stop, and Conrad really was a good listener, making just the right amount of understanding or surprised sounds to keep Yuuri going without being distracting. Halfway to the castle, he finally ran out of steam and felt vaguely embarrassed. Here he was, the king of an ancient and noble country, and he was whining like a kid over a bad day. He hoped Conrad wouldn't think less of him for it. The steady warmth of Conrad's chest against Yuuri's back was reassuring, though, and if he wasn't still soaking wet and smelling like ditch, he probably would have leaned back. He shifted in the saddle to lean farther over the horse's neck and give Conrad a little more room and probably a breath of fresh air.
"Sorry, I probably should have sat behind you," he said. "Stay downwind, you know."
Conrad chuckled. "It's not that bad. But you've got something stuck on your neck."
"Ack! Is it another leech? Get it off!"
"It's not a leech," Conrad assured him. Yuuri felt the man's calloused fingers gently pluck something out of the back of his high uniform collar. "Ah! This is a good sign, Yuuri. Look."
"Huh?" Yuuri held out his hand to accept whatever it was that Conrad was giving to him. It turned out to be a little piece of plant. A clover, to be exact, not unlike the ones covering the roadside he'd fallen down. It had four leaves. Yuuri stared at it, then craned his neck to look at Conrad behind him.
"Looks like your bad luck changed, right?" the brunet asked with a wide, open smile that for a moment struck Yuuri a little speechless.
"Ah, uh-huh," he said, ducking his head again so Conrad wouldn't see the unexplainable blush he was fighting. "Yeah. I guess you could see it that way, huh? For a while, though, I thought maybe my bad luck was contagious. After all, you lost your bet with Josak, didn't you?"
Behind him, Conrad tensed in confusion. "Bet? What bet?"
"You know, when you guys asked me if I was upset over Wolfram dumping me. He kept giving you these looks like this," Yuuri said, turning back with his best approximation of Josak's smug grin. "If this isn't the face of a man who just won a bet, I don't know what is."
Conrad blinked, then laughed. "No, there wasn't a bet. He was just gloating because he was right. I tried stopping Wolfram because I was under the impression that you liked him, and I didn't want to see you get hurt if you arrived and found out from someone else. Josak was helping me, but he didn't really see the point. He said it was obvious that you didn't want to be engaged any more than Wolfram did."
"Well, it was obvious. How many times do I have to say something around here? I swear, you are all so stubborn, I have to beat everything into your skulls," Yuuri told him with a snort, but he was only half kidding.
"And you must be that much more stubborn, if you manage to beat anything into our skulls at all," Conrad responded. When Yuuri began to make noises of dissent, he added, "It's actually quite admirable. You must have a lot of patience to deal with us."
"And don't you forget it," Yuuri said, throwing a grin over his shoulder.
"As you wish, Your Majesty," came the teasing reply.
"Conrad - "
"Your Majestyyyyy!"
Yuuri couldn't help it, he froze like a deer in headlights at the familiar wail. They'd just gotten through the castle gates, and Gunter had spotted him already. Yuuri shook the four-leaf clover in his fingers, giving it a dirty look when the only result was that another joyous shout rang out as Gunter pelted straight for him.
"I think my luck ran out," he whined. "Where's a leprechaun when you really need one?"
"They're all extinct," Conrad answered.
"What? How?"
"Potato famine."
Conversation was impossible after that, because Gunter pulled him into a mammoth hug that pulled Yuuri right out of the saddle. Soon after this, Gunter found out about Yuuri's horrible day, and more importantly his twisted ankle. After a great deal of fuss that involved no less than two of Anissina's inventions, Yuuri finally just had Gisela take a look. She wrapped it for him while he ate a long-awaited sandwich, and told him to stay off it as much as possible for a few days.
Thus fortified, Yuuri successfully dodged Gunter for the rest of the afternoon, choosing instead to hide away in his private bath. To his disgust, he found three more leeches stuck to him under his clothes, and had to use a mirror to check himself all over before he was satisfied, even if he still had a case of the creepy-crawlies. Finally, though, he felt clean and presentable in dry clothes, and he tucked the four-leaf clover through a button-hole in his shirt. He proceeded to limp his way outside into the sweet evening air of the castle gardens.
By the time all this had been accomplished, Josak had returned with Wolfram and Gustav both in tow. Yuuri saw them all out on the main patio that led into the gardens. Celi was fawning over the young couple, sighing and smiling. Gwendal sat next to her with his arms crossed over his chest. One of his eyebrows was twitching. Josak hung back, watching with a highly amused expression. He alone noticed Yuuri and gave him a knowing wink when the king crept out of sight behind a hedge.
"Really, Wolf. You should have at least told your own mother," Celi pouted. "I could have helped with the dramatic escape. I mean, I would have helped you organize your wedding sooner. Oh, there are so many things to do! I can't wait."
"You're not putting either of us in a dress, Mother," Wolfram warned sullenly. Yuuri supposed he must be upset at getting caught, and had sudden insight to the real reason for the elopement. "And you'll listen to me on the color scheme."
"Ah, but you'd be gorgeous in a wedding dress," the blonde woman argued. "Isn't that right, Gwen?"
Gwendal's eyebrow twitched again. "If you called me out here to discuss fashion, I'm leaving. I have quite a lot of work to attend to."
"Don't be like that, Gwendal. Wolfram had something really important to ask you," Celi said. "Didn't you, Wolf?"
"Er. Yes." Wolfram looked down at his hands and coughed. "Would you – That is, I'd be honored to have you as my best man, big brother."
"Of course," Gwendal said without pausing, in a tone far kinder than Yuuri had heard him use before – not that that was saying much. "Was there anything else?"
"Yes, lots! We have colors to pick out, flowers to decide on, invitations to write - "'
"I'll just be leaving then. Congratulations," Gwendal told them, standing hastily and retreating to the relative safety of his office.
Yuuri snickered into his hand as walked farther into the gardens. A strange elated glee filled him as he realized that he wouldn't have to worry about this kind of thing with Wolfram. It really brought home the fact that he was no longer in some kind of farcical engagement and was now free to associate with whomever he wanted. He briefly entertained fantasies of hordes of female admirers, but those oddly enough faded when for no reason at all Conrad's beaming smile from earlier that afternoon flashed in his mind's eye. Of course, he had no doubt that this day wouldn't have turned out half as well if he hadn't run into Conrad. He really had been lucky.
His hand rose to touch the wilting clover in his shirt. An idea was forming in his head. After all, he reasoned to himself, Conrad had already given him a good luck charm in the form of the blue pendant. Perhaps it was time he returned the favor. He already could vouch personally for its effectiveness.
Just as he was about to turn and to go look for the older man, Josak popped up from behind a topiary shrub.
"What are you doing out and about so late without a bodyguard, Your Majesty?"
"What? It's not even sunset yet, and since when do I need a bodyguard twenty-four seven?" Yuuri demanded, started out of his train of thought entirely.
"So, when was the last time someone attempted either your assassination or kidnapping?" Josak asked with studious casualness.
"Well, last time I was here there were only three - "
"Exactly. You need someone to watch your back. I'm busy babysitting the lovebirds to make sure they won't make another run for it, but I did see one soldier in particular who looked like he needed something to do. He's mooning over the sunset at the pond at the foot of the garden," Josak told him, his lips playing upward in a knowing smile.
"You mean Conrad."
"Never let it be said you're slow on the uptake. Yes, it's Conrad. Now shoo, before Lady Celi demands the royal decision between cobalt and midnight as the color for the groomsmen's suits," the redhead warned.
"All right already. Jeez. I'm going," Yuuri huffed even as a smile crept across his face. "Thanks for the heads up."
"My pleasure, Your Majesty. Better hurry if you want to catch him."
He set off, already tugging his clover out of the button-hole, even though it was a good ten minute walk to the pond. Which made Yuuri wonder how Josak knew Conrad was there right at the moment, but he put it down to Josak's intelligence gathering skills. He wasn't Gwendal's premier spy without good reason.
As he walked, though, he found he was growing nervous. Was this a stupid thing to do? Was it too sentimental and girly? Conrad would never tell him if he thought so, the man was just too polite sometimes. As well as doubts plaguing him, his ankle was starting to hurt again from all the walking by the time he made it to the pond. But what he saw there made him stop short.
Conrad was sitting with his back against a tree, legs splayed out in front of him, his uniform jacket undone with the white undershirt open at the throat. His sword rested next to him within easy reach. The sunset filled the sky with gorgeous streaks of red and gold, reflecting on the small pool and catching highlights in his mussed chestnut hair. His face, though, was unguarded and somehow sad. Yuuri wondered if he should just turn and go; it seemed like he was intruding on a private moment, but his feet appeared to be glued to the spot.
Before he could muster the will to move, Conrad noticed him and smiled. The strange feeling of intrusion evaporated in an instant.
"Your – Yuuri. What brings you out here?" he asked.
"Ah. Sorry. I don't mean to bother you," Yuuri stammered, shifting awkwardly. "Josak said I should have a bodyguard with me."
The eyebrow with the fine scar running through it rose slightly at that. "Josak did?"
Conrad continued with something under his breath that Yuuri couldn't catch. Yuuri just nodded in response to the question, then said, "But I wanted to find you anyway."
"Oh? Well, you found me. Come, sit," Conrad said, moving over to make room at the foot of the tree while Yuuri limped over from the path. "Is your ankle bothering you?"
"Not really," he answered, but sat next to his friend with a grateful sigh that belied his words.
"That's good. What's on your mind?"
Yuuri fidgeted. "Well, I just. I wanted to. Um. Here."
He thrust out his hand and could have kicked himself. He was so much worse at this kind of thing than Conrad had been when he'd given Yuuri the pendant. Conrad didn't seem to notice. He looked a little surprised, though, as he reached out and held his hand under Yuuri's, waiting. Taking Conrad's hand with his own free hand, Yuuri carefully placed the wilted clover in Conrad's palm.
"Yuuri, this is –" Conrad stopped, his eyes wide in surprise.
"I get all my good luck from this," Yuuri said, touching the pendant through his shirt, knowing Conrad especially would know what he meant. "I don't need any other kind of charm. But since you gave me yours, I think it's only fair that I give this to you."
He realized his hands were still both holding onto Conrad's, and he looked down at them. After a brief moment of consideration, he closed the man's fingers around the offering, then glanced back up with a shy smile. Conrad was watching him, smile gone but with something equally warm playing in the backs of his deep brown eyes, and a blush heated the black-haired boy's cheeks. Yuuri only then noticed how close they were leaning, barely six inches between their faces, and still he was holding onto the man's hand.
"Thank you, Yuuri," Conrad said in a voice that was a pitch lower than usual.
Conrad shifted gently, his hand retracting. Yuuri thought maybe he should let go, but instead let himself be drawn with it as if it was the most natural thing in the world. The first brush of Conrad's lips on his sent Yuuri's eyes flying wide open, and then a tingling rush of some kind of weird, fluttery emotion surged through him. His eyes slid closed and he leaned into it, a sweet, soft, gentle kiss, feeling his stomach fill with butterflies and his pulse quicken.
Ah. So. This is what.
Oh. He suddenly got it.
The kiss was not quite brief. Conrad was the first to pull away, and Yuuri couldn't help the little disappointed noise that escaped him when he lost the contact. Reluctantly, he opened his eyes. Conrad was actually slightly flushed as well, which made Yuuri quirk his lips up in relief that he wasn't the only one who was turning red. Conrad saw his smile and took in a deep breath as he returned it.
"Y-you're welcome," Yuuri said, and swallowed to keep the elation that blindsided him from bursting out in a raucous whoop.
Conrad gave a breathless laugh, and pretty soon they were both giggling like idiot schoolboys. Yuuri had to admit, it was refreshing to see Conrad so relaxed. After they calmed down a bit, they sat under the tree talking until the sun sank below the horizon and stars were starting peer through the night at them.
"We should go in," Conrad said.
"Aw, do we have to? I mean, no one's going to notice, not with Wolfram and his fiancé distracting people," Yuuri protested, and followed it with a wide yawn.
"If we stay out here any longer, you're going to fall asleep," Conrad pointed out, amused.
"No, I'm - " he broke off to yawn again, " – not. Okay, maybe you have a point."
They got up and began to make their way back to the castle, and Yuuri regretted not listening to Gisela about the staying-off-the-ankle thing. Even after the good long rest, it still hurt to walk on it, and after only a couple minutes Conrad stopped him.
"What is it?" Yuuri asked, blinking.
"Here," Conrad said, facing away and dropping to a crouch. "I'll carry you back."
"No, it's alright, really. Don't bother – "
"It's no trouble, and you're injured. Come on."
"Well…" Yuuri hesitated. He didn't want to be treated like a girl or anything, but his ankle did really hurt, and he'd probably already walked on it too much for the day, counting his first trek to the city. "Oh, all right."
He uncertainly climbed on to Conrad's back, the man's arms supporting his legs as Yuuri wrapped his arms carefully over Conrad's shoulders. Conrad stood easy and set off at a brisk pace. Yuuri yawned again and rested his cheek against the semi-coarse material covering Conrad's shoulder.
Today had really been long and confusing. He wasn't sure what to make of it. It was as if the universe had aligned against him, and then done a complete one-eighty. Maybe it was just one of those blessings in disguise. After all, if he hadn't had all that horrible luck, he might not have encountered Wolfram or Conrad at the gate, and he'd never have had this bizarre and yet wonderful evening. Luck was like that, though, wasn't it? And who knew what this new kissing business meant, really. It wasn't even that big of a shift, once he thought about it. They still talked like they always had. Maybe it wasn't a big deal, after all. With a content sigh, he snuggled a little closer to the nape of Conrad's neck.
He was asleep by the time they reached the castle.
END
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Omake:
The wedding planning committee had made their way inside by the time Conrad brought his sleeping burden to the patio. Yuuri made a small noise and nuzzled against his shoulder, and he couldn't help the wide, half-disbelieving smile on his face.
Josak stepped out from a shadow cast by a pillar, smirking. "I told you so."
Conrad did his best to glare, but his smile stubbornly refused to vanish so the effect was lost. He settled for replying, "Gloat if you must, but you still can't deny discretion is the better part of valor."
"Valor? Who's talking about valor? I was just tired of seeing you two making eyes at each other. Someone had to take initiative," Josak said.
"Gwendal needs to keep you busier if you're bored enough to play matchmaker."
"Keep talkin', pal. I don't see you complaining." Josak's smirk widened to a leer. "Just where are you taking His Majesty, anyway?"
"To his bedroom, of course. And I to mine," he added before Josak could add something indecent.
He should've known it wouldn't stop the redhead, who chortled. "Oh? And here I thought you'd definitely be getting lucky."
"Josak..." Conrad trailed off menacingly, but then added a chuckle himself as he thought of the kiss and the clover in his pocket. "I've had luck enough for one night."
"Really? Damn, captain, but you work faster than I thought. And out in the garden, no less."
At this, Conrad's face heated, and his mouth worked silently for a moment before he finally glared, saying, "As soon as I put him to bed, I'm coming back out here to hurt you."
Yuuri woke up to Josak's loud guffawing.
END
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