Pairing: ConYuu

Rating: T

Timeline: Somewhere after the Betrayal Arc

Warnings: This is my first ConYuu fic, I suppose that deserves a warning.

Dreamscape

Something wasn't right.

The hallways were silent; each and every one of them lacked guards which was completely unacceptable, wasn't it? Yuuri placed his hands on his hips as he looked in all directions. No one; not a single soul.

"What happened to 'we can't let you out of our sight, Your Majesty'? Or 'you're the maou so you need guards 24-7, even in the bath or when you're sleeping'?" he grumbled under his breath, annoyed with the constant supervision and even more so now when he had a question and no one was there to answer it. "They'd better not be making important decisions without me again." But would that really require the presence of the entire castle?

He'd been wandering around the castle for hours; baseball and glove in hand as he searched for Conrad so they could play their usual round of catch, but the older man was nowhere to be found. Yuuri had grown used to Conrad's various duties and knew that he was rarely found in the same place, but he could always count on Yozak or one of Conrad's men to tell him where the captain happened to be that day. The stables, the library, his office, the training grounds, the barracks, in town, Lady Cheri's room, and once it was the kitchen, but Yuuri had checked all these places that Conrad frequented and he came up with nothing.

Not to mention that he couldn't find anyone else for that matter. Not even Yozak the friendly spy or his irate, clingy fiancée. An uneasy feeling curled in his stomach; he was never alone here. Maids, guards, advisors, and guests… there was always someone around! His fist clenched around the baseball in his hand. He swallowed hard and started walking again towards the courtyard. If worse came to worse, he'd saddle up Ao and go to Shinou's temple to find Murata and Ulrike and ask them where everyone had disappeared to.

There wasn't a special festival today was there? Yuuri was positive that Gunter would've mentioned it, but Yuuri didn't always pay attention during his studies. Maybe a surprise party? But where in the castle was there a room big enough to fit all the inhabitants? And it wasn't his birthday or anything.

As he made his way towards the staircase so he could go downstairs, he paused at the window as an orangeish glow in the distance caught his eye. Curious as to what it could be, Yuuri darted down the stairs and into the courtyard. It actually wasn't that far off; the glow appeared to be coming from a field they passed frequently when visting nearby villages. It was still too far to go on foot though. He headed for the stables, relieved that the horses were there even if the people weren't. Yuuri set down his ball and glove on a nearby barrel.

"Okay, Ao… you gotta help me with this." He told the horse in a soft voice like he often heard Conrad do. "Now… the blanket goes first?"

Yuuri wasn't quite sure how he managed to properly put the saddle on Ao, but he decided he just remembered from watching Conrad do it so many times. He placed the ball and glove into a pack attached 

to Ao's saddle and clambored atop his horse. He urged the black steed forward, carefully directing the horse towards the orange glow. It didn't take long to arrive; Yuuri felt relieved as he heard familiar voices approaching. Gwendel and Gunter were recognized first, but their tones depicted them as not being pleased. Yuuri's relief was short lived as he noticed that the orange glow came from the many lit torches. They weren't festival torches though… these kinds of torches belonged to angry mobs.

Yuuri shivered as he dismounted, grabbing his ball and glove before taking hesitant steps towards the crowd of people that materialized before him. His wide black eyes searched for a familiar face, namely Conrad's since the man provided security and would tell him what was going on. The uneasiness returned and Yuuri felt the strange urge to hold someone's hand for reassurance.

"Conrad?" he called out hesitantly, "Conrad? Where are you? Gwendel? Gunter?" Their voices, which had been distinguishable moments ago, now mingled with the roar of the crowd. "Wolfram? Yozak? Anyone?"

Everyone from the castle gathered here and then some, but not a single person acknowledged him. He felt like screaming; frantically looking this way and that way to locate someone he trusted. Then he saw it. Big Shimaron's flag fluttered in the breeze, illuminated by the torches. Yuuri's heart clenched; even though he'd forgiven Conrad and felt no bitterness at the man's supposed betrayal, the sight of their flag brought back the worry and fear of abandoment he felt back then. Was this why everyone was here? Was Big Shimaron declaring war?

That couldn't be it. There was only one flag.

Yuuri attempted to get closer to the flag; that seemed to be where the most activity was going on. He squeezed between two people and popped out near the front. He could see Gwendel and Gunter now, standing to his left, and Wolfram was a ways to the left of them. They all wore disapproving expressions on their faces. He fought to get closer to them.

"Gunter, what's going on?" he asked, seeking to meet his mentor's eyes, "Why's everyone here?"

"Justice will be served, your majesty. Just as you have always wished it." Gunter replied coldly, not even looking at him.

Yuuri shivered, holding his glove and ball to his chest, "What does that mean? What justice? What happened?"

"You know what happened, your majesty. Don't worry; he'll pay for it greatly." Gwendel mentioned in his deep, growl-like voice.

"Who will?" Yuuri looked around at everyone. He saw Dorcas, the three maids, some soldiers, Yozak, Wolfram, Gisela, Anissina, and Greta… "Where's Conrad?"

Suddenly the crowd broke into a uproar. Yuuri leaned closer to Gunter, his eyes darting from face to face until something moved out of the corner of his eyes. He turned his attention back to the flag and now saw Murata standing there next to a figure that strangely resembled Shinou from the painting. The man who looked like Shinou held a sheathed sword in his hands and watched as Murata nodded. The 

crowd grew louder as two soldiers emerged from the crowd dragging a battered body wearing a red and white coat.

Yuuri's heart seemed to stop and everything around him became white noise. The baseball fell from his hand and landed with a small thud and rolled a few inches on the grass. He knew that coat; it belonged to officers of Big Shimaron's military. He knew this because Conrad had worn a coat just like it. But it wasn't supposed to have red on it…

The soldiers threw the body to the ground and it trembled, slowly rising from the face down position it had been forced to. Brown hair fell into equally brown eyes. Yuuri's chest constricted and he tried to call out, but couldn't find his voice. The soldiers forced the man to kneel with his hands bound behind his back, similar to how Yuuri had been bound when Big Shimaron's king ordered Conrad to kill him.

"This man's betrayal to our beautiful country will be answered with justice!" the Shinou-look-alike bellowed, exciting the crowd while Yuuri just gaped at the sight.

"Let the execution commence!" Murata shouted, stepping aside and taking the sheath as Shinou removed the sword from it.

Yuuri's heart started again.

"No! You can't! Stop Murata!" he cried out to his friend, panic fueling his voice. Murata didn't look at him. Yuuri turned to Gunter and Gwendel, "You can't let this happen! Gwendel do something! Gunter!"

Gwendel just stared straight ahead, "He deserves this, your majesty."

"How can you say that?! He's your brother!" Yuuri screamed at him before breaking into a sprint towards the bound man, "Stop! Stop, it's okay! He didn't do anything wrong!"

"Your Majesty, stay away." Gunter had grabbed onto Yuuri preventing him from running any further.

The sword gleamed as it was lifted into the air and Yuuri struggled to free himself, hysteria bubbling up inside him, "No! No! Conrad! Conrad!"

Empty brown eyes gazed at him, all emotion drained from the man who had named him. He didn't even care that he was about to die. "I deserve this, Your Majesty."

"No, you don't! Conrad, please!" Yuuri's voice cracked and the sword sung down in a graceful arc, "CONRAD!!"

Yuuri screamed and sprung up, fingers clawing at his chest and clamping onto the blue pendant that hung from around his neck. His throat burned and his eyes stung as tears streamed down his ghostly white cheeks. His chest heaved as he tried to take in more air to fill up his lungs since he kept expelling it through his choked sobs. His free hand clenched in his sheets as his eyes stared at his lap. He was in bed. It had been a dream.

His breathing evened out at the realization and his eyes slipped shut as he tried to calm the quick hammering of his heart. His bedroom was dark, the stars still shimmering outside his bedroom window. Beside him Wolfram continued to sleep… well, not exactly peacefully considering his constantly flailing limbs, but Yuuri felt extremely thankful that his outburst didn't wake up his fiancée. He shivered as he recalled Wolfram's presence in his dream; watching the execution…

Yuuri clamped his hand over his mouth and trembled; tears still falling from his eyes. He felt nauseated by the image… nauseated by the sight of Conrad about to be executed and completely helpless. "I deserve this, Your Majesty." He closed his eyes again, willing himself to forget the nightmare. Just a dream… just a bad dream…Conrad's not dead… not dead… But his heart continued to ache and his mind continued to replay the second when the sword began its descent towards Conrad's outstretched neck.

He couldn't stay in here. Yuuri scrambled out of bed, not even pausing to put on his slippers as he dashed out into the hallway. He needed to see him. The two guards posted outside his door had fallen asleep thankfully; it would've been embarrassing had they barged in upon hearing him scream to find that he wasn't in any danger and just had a nightmare and then Wolfram would've woken for sure and called him a wimp and then he wouldn't get to see Conrad.

The hallway was cold and the young king was clad in only his pajamas as he sought out the soldiers' chambers where his protector slept when he wasn't on duty. Yuuri half hoped that the man was not patrolling the castle tonight, while the other half hoped he wasn't so he wouldn't have to embarrass himself by looking like a baby who needed comfort. Except I do need comfort, dammit.

Yuuri ran all the way to Conrad's room and didn't even stop before flinging the door open. He caught the handle before it could slam against the wall, but the sudden noise gave cause for Yuuri to be held at sword point. Conrad stood straight and tense, the moonlight from his window illuminating his figure. His chest was bare and his hair mussed from sleep even as he prepared himself to fight the intruder. Until he registered the intruder's tear-stained face.

"Your Majesty?" Conrad breathed, the sword immediately vanishing into its sheath. "What's wrong?"

Even when he'd been held at sword point just seconds ago, he felt no fear; only relieved that his brown haired knight stood before him. That relief evaporated into guilt for waking him up and fear that his reasons for being here were silly and childish. So Yuuri just stood in the doorway, clutching the handle of Conrad's door and staring at the man like a deer caught in the headlights.

This reaction didn't pacify Conrad's concern, "What happened, Your Majesty? Are you all right?"

"I…" his voice came out no higher than a whisper, his lips quivered, "Ah…"

Conrad waited rather impatiently, taking a few steps towards his king and Yuuri could see his face a little better. "Your Majesty?"

"It's Yuuri…" he finally managed to get out, finding comfort in that little statement, "You should know that… you named me…"

His voice cracked and, embarrassed, he started to rub at his eyes with his sleeve suddenly aware of the tears still caught there. He heard Conrad come closer and felt the comforting weight of his hand on his shoulder. Yuuri swallowed and hesitantly met the older man's gaze.

"Yuuri…" he murmured softly, "Please tell me what happened."

The boy king sniffled and shook his head, "N-nothing! I… I just had a bad dream… that's all." He heard Conrad release the breath he'd been holding in, "Sorry for barging in like that… I didn't mean to worry you or anything… I just, I… I'll just go now."

"No, it's alright." The hand on his shoulder tightened a bit, "I was only worried that you might be injured or in danger, not that a bad dream is any less important. Do you want to talk about it?"

Conrad sounded so concerned; it filled Yuuri's chest with an indefinable emotion. Those brown eyes that in his dream had been empty and dead with no hope at all were now filled with a variety of emotions ranging from relief to worry to affection… Yuuri couldn't stop staring into those eyes until his vision blurred from the onslaught of new tears.

In answer to Conrad's question, he just shook his head rapidly. "I… I just needed to see you. I-I couldn't stay there. I'm sorry I woke you up, though… it was stupid of me to just come in here."

"It's not stupid to admit that you need something, Your Majesty." Conrad replied softly and Yuuri glanced away, "Would you like me to walk you back to your chambers?"

Yuuri shook his head a bit slower this time, "That's okay… I don't really want to go back there yet…" He ducked his head and stared at the floor, "Can I stay with you tonight?"

He anticipated to be turned away or laughed at, but instead he received a thoughtful silence before a soft: "Of course, Your Majesty."

"Yuuri." The young king grumbled to keep his mind off of wanting to embrace his protector tightly as if that would keep anyone who wished to do him harm away. "How many times do I have to tell you?"

"My apologies, Yuuri." Conrad smiled as he over-emphasized his king's name; trying to lighten Yuuri's mood so he wouldn't have to think about his nightmare. "Why don't you come in out of the doorway, Yuuri? I promise that my room is perfectly safe."

Yuuri glanced up at him, thankful that the little red that dusted his cheeks could not be seen well in the dark, "Of course it's safe. You're here. And that isn't why I didn't come in; I was waiting for you to invite me in. Just because I'm maou doesn't mean I can abuse my power by waltzing into others' rooms. I do respect privacy unlike some-" he stopped, recalling his dream and how he was all alone in the castle before finding Conrad's execution.

This pause did not go unnoticed by Conrad; nor did Yuuri's muscles tensing. The soldier moved his hand to Yuuri's back and guided him into his room, "Well, I officially invite you into my chamber, Yuuri." The black haired boy still seemed upset; Conrad wondered what kind of dream Yuuri had that would rattle him so badly, but if his king did not wish to speak of it, then Conrad could not press the 

issue. Even though he wanted to; for Yuuri's sake. "It's awfully late; perhaps you should try to get some sleep."

"Only if you do too." Yuuri seemed to reign in his irrational fear and watched for Conrad's confirmation.

Conrad nodded, and then gently nudged Yuuri towards the bed. The sheets were rumpled from when Conrad was startled from his sleep upon Yuuri's arrival. The older man straightened them out a bit as Yuuri climbed into bed. He carefully drew the covers around him, inhaling Conrad's scent that permeated the bed as he did so. Once he was securely tucked in, Conrad moved over to the chair in the corner of the room and sat down. Black eyes watched, disapproval shining in their depths.

The moonlight from the window washed over the expanse of Conrad's scarred chest. He smiled at Yuuri as he waited for the boy to fall asleep, keeping careful watch as always. Yuuri gulped and felt his face turn hot, his eyes unconsciously drawn to the bare chest he was unfamiliar with. However, every time he made eye contact, he felt exposed and his gaze would dart back to his chest.

"Your Majesty…" there was a bit of a reprimand in his voice; Yuuri was supposed to be trying to sleep, not watching Conrad watch him.

"That's not what I meant." Yuuri finally blurted out and Conrad arched an eyebrow, waiting for him to clarify. "It can't be comfortable over there. And the bed is big enough."

Conrad sighed, "Your Majesty-"

"Call me Yuuri, Man-Who-named-Me."

Something tugged on Conrad's heartstrings as he drank in the sight of Yuuri pouting, encased in a blanket cocoon on his bed, and waiting for Conrad to join him. "Yuuri… it would be entirely inappropriate."

Yuuri shook his head, "No, not if I say it's fine. You're tired too, right?" The other didn't respond. "Please? Please listen to me. They didn't listen in my dream and…" his breath hitched mid-sentence. "I-I'm the maou… they were supposed to listen…"

"Yuuri?" Conrad hesitantly rose from his chair and crossed the distance between it and the bed.

The young king wriggled out of the blankets and flung his arms around Conrad's waist once he drew near enough, "They were going to kill you and I couldn't stop them! I couldn't… they wouldn't listen to me! You were going to die and I couldn't help you… I couldn't do anything." He hiccuped, pressing his cheek to the warm flesh of Conrad's stomach.

"Yuuri…" Conrad had been taken aback at first-- torn between maintaining proper decorum between a king and his servant and giving into his desire to comfort the boy-- but slowly wrapped his arms around Yuuri to return the embrace, "I'm right here, Yuuri. I'm not going to die."

"You don't deserve to die, okay? You don't! I don't blame you, so no one else should! Especially you!" he continued to cry, "I want to protect you too, Conrad, but you have to let me, okay? So please get in the bed. Please listen to me. I don't want you to die. I want you by my side always, okay?"

Understanding Yuuri's fears now, Conrad couldn't help but feel guilty for carrying the burden of betrayal all this time and giving his king reason to worry. "I'm sorry, Yuuri." He whispered gently, lifting the boy's head up and wiping away the new tears. "I'm sorry I've worried you like this and that I am the cause of such nightmares."

"Don't be sorry." Yuuri sniffled, batting his hand away so he could pull him down on the bed, "Just stay here with me and you don't have to be sorry."

"Alright, Yuuri. I will. I won't leave you alone anymore, I promise." He swore softly, taking one off Yuuri's hands and squeezing it as he settled down beside him. He brought the hand to his lips and lightly brushed them across his knuckles; he meant for to be a respectful gesture, though he did have selfish reasons behind it as well.

Yuuri watched wide-eyed until Conrad met his gaze again and suddenly the young king pressed his lips to his knight's in a chaste kiss before rolling over so Conrad was forced to stare at his back. "Thank you, Conrad." The older man was left speechless with his lips tingling and his cheeks flushed while Yuuri wore a blush to match, "Goodnight."

Sleep draped across Yuuri and as he faded from the conscious world, he was faintly aware of a kiss to his head and a soft: "Goodnight, Yuuri. Sweet dreams."

A/N: I've been a fan of ConYuu for a while now, but this is my first stab at writing something for the fandom. I hope it wasn't too OOC or flameable. Please let me know what you thought and constructive criticism is welcome, just not blatant insults.