Disclaimer: The world of Kyou Kara Maou! is a world that I did not have the privilege to create; merely watch and enjoy. :)
Things Unfurled
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Last Edit: Sunday, September 27, 2009; 4:56 p.m.
Chapter One:
Discovery
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Gasping a moment, rather from the pure shock or the lingering effects of the adrenaline still lacing his system from before, he knew not, nevertheless he hurriedly guess-timated the length of time that Wolfram could have possibly been there. Afraid of how long the pollen had been in the fair-haired man's system, and the repercussions that may have caused.
Anissina had warned him that the longer the time set to the pollen within the system, the more potent it's effects. He had never seen her whole composure change as it had while she had been almost-but-not-quite reprimanding him on his careless actions. Honestly; she had spoken dramatically, 'you men think of nothing! What would that selfish-loafer do if his most vulnerable part was revealed!'
She had gasped, as if shocked; "My the things that would unfurl!"
Then she had laughed her twittering little tune that had half-scared him to death. He truly felt sorry for Gwendal.
The glittering in her eyes had been a fierce sort that he, no matter how hard he tried, couldn't stop himself from getting chills, which was saying something with the temperature what it was. If he hadn't known better, he would say the scarlet woman had had this planned from the start.
Which greatly affected him on a number of ways that he refused to admit; subconsciously or willfully. He couldn't even begin to comprehend the amount of genius that she would have had to known, if she had been able to predict everything.
He shuddered lowly to himself as he went reeling from his thoughts. The enormity of the situation at hand far greater than any 'grand schemes' cooked up by Anissina.
Even while walking more fully into the room, Yuuri was calmingly slightly, as he realized the short time span Wolfram could had possibly been allotted to the flowers. It was, he decided, not that long as he'd only been in the vicinity of the castle since noon and it had only just been and hour or so ago wherein Anissina informed him of his folly. Though, he worried fleetingly, it was now dusk and the maids were known for hurrying their errands.
Decisive about only one thing in that particular moment, Yuuri sprinted towards the terrace, marveling at his own speed, before stopping just short of the other while breathing heavily from the short dash.
His flaxen haired friend laid motionless save for the momentarily twitching of his nimble fingers, which were curling and uncurling in quick erratic motions, signaling his awareness levels rising.
Yuuri, being unmindful to such, began to gently but with a definite firmness, push against the others shoulder in a consistent movement hoping to rouse the other from his slumber.
Though he shortly understood that there was no need for such an action as the ethereal other began to breathe more heavily. Waiting patiently, Yuuri breathed a sigh of relief when, within moments, Wolfram was already stirring. His eyes were flickering languorously, till soon he was making some oddly indecisive noises while mumbling inarticulately, in a way that was so uncharacteristic of the blonde Yuuri almost laughed.
Although it was not a sight he was expecting, it was far better than anything he'd imagined. Who knew what Wolfram was hiding underneath all of his layers upon layers of his …exterior….his….for lack of a better word…Wolfram-ness?
Yuuri shook his head to dispel such a nonsense thought, and returned to the matter at hand. Whispering the others name softly, he slowly crouched down and began to gently shake the others shoulder again, but with a more relaxed stance.
"Wolfram?...Wolf? Please wake up. I need to know your okay."
"Ngh."
Wolfram squinted his eyes against the rather illuminative afternoon sun and managed to fold his legs beside him, prop himself up on his right arm and look amazingly like an innocent as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes.
It was at this time Yuuri took notice of Wolfram's painting attire. A simple navy cotton like dress, closely resembling a rather plain gown, loosely hung from his shoulders and stopped barely beneath his knees.
Yuuri blushed avidly before easing closer to the other boy while trying to discern if something was wrong with him.
For some reason, Yuuri couldn't help but to also notice that Wolfram's appearance at this time seemed predominantly innocent. Not that he hadn't known his would-be fiancé to have a peculiar air of femininity…he just hadn't paid it particular attention.
Until now.
Wolfram's features seemed to take on a whole new level of bishounen.
His hair was disheveled in the most provocative way, his cheeks flushed with an unknown emotion and his lips glistened as they parted just slightly enough to allow entry to…What?
Yuuri took a rather unnecessarily large gulp of air, which his lungs promptly had him hack back up at the unneeded influx, and he coughed discreetly while hoping against hope that the ever observant Wolfram had not noticed.
Shinou seemed to be on his side.
For once.
"Um..Wolfram?" How poignant, he berated himself mindfully whilst looking towards the man in question…
His mind quickly froze fleetingly, before it began to whirl rapidly.
Man. Yes, that was right wasn't it? No matter what Yuuri tended to think sometimes or any evidence he acquired which insinuated otherwise. Wolfram was a man.
An uncommonly beautiful one, he allowed himself to admit, but a man nonetheless.
Suddenly startled by movement to his left, he became aware of just how long this particular monologue had gone on within his mind. Now was not the time to be drifting off into la-la land he berated himself mentally. Still though, he was almost at the point of wandering off again, till the sound of a particularly quite spoken miffed tone broke through in internal process.
"Yes Yuuri?" Those long eyelashes fluttered luminously as if defying masculinity, genetics and all common logic themselves before parting halfway, effectively giving Yuuri a near dangerously lustful look.
No, that's wrong, he though sternly.
I must be mistaken. He's innocent. Anissina said these things could bring out the most hidden part of ones sense of self. It would only make sense that it would bring out Wolfram's innocence. As a soldier, a son and the youngest brother, surely Wolfram would give his utmost effort into concealing that particular tidbit of himself. Right?
Yuuri wasn't too sure even with his insincere attempts at proving himself otherwise. He gave himself pause, discreetly assessing the situation. Not as effectively as Wolfram would have done in his situation for sure, as the other was a trained professional, but he'd like to think he learned a few good things about self preservation in high school thank you very much.
He was startled out of another of his uncharacteristically bouts of daydreaming when he heard Wolfram's low tenor-istic voice invade his thoughts.
"Yuuri…What was it you wanted?" There was a sinful pause where the blonde elegantly tucked back a portion of his hair and straightened accordingly whilst speaking to his superior.
"Surely you don't mean to," He paused a moment to wet his already glistening lips. "Ignore me."
The other trailed off in a near seductive whisper and Yuuri was astounded by the sheer amount of will power it took for him not to wet his pants.
"No! I-I just... Anissina i…nformed me that you might have some..uh-side effects of those flowers I gave you…Not you specifically, but full-blooded m-mazoku in general t-that is…" He spoke hurriedly, unwanting of any explosive eruptions from his intended.
But the other was already shaking his head demurely. "No. I shouldn't have. I am after all, allergic to flowers. It would be hazardous to my health if I kept them in my room over night. So, I just set them amidst the ivy on my balcony." He spoke delicately as if each word was an ethereal fruit barely ripe enough for the picking, as he pointed delicately to the right of him, in the direction of the curls of ivy lining the walls and wound about the wooden posts forming the veranda.
Yuuri could practically feel the heat rising, from the southern area of his figure, to the more commonplace area of his cheeks.
"Oh." He spoke bashfully, then hurriedly with more conviction, once he realized what information Wolfram unmindfully had given away.
"Oh. I'm really sorry Wolfram. I had no idea I jus-"
"No, you wouldn't." Then before Yuuri could even begin to feel the effects of shame kick in, his fiancé spoke again: "I try my best not to spread it around. Yet it was nice jester nonetheless." His words were a near whisper in the wind and his tone was heavily laden with awe for a reason Yuuri couldn't quite fathom.
"Well. I-" He fidgeted. What was he going to say again? Oh. "Next time I'll get you something really nice. I swear it." He spoke assuredly, determined that his next journey and gifts brought forth from it would bear more fruitful gifts.
Yet Wolframs already doe-like eyes rounded into near impossible proportions, seemingly glistening with unshed tears, their dark gaze arose to meet his own as their owner stood.
"You mean there will be a next time?" The golden-haired male in front of him flexed his fingers into the marble, as if reaching for strength hidden in its depths.
He looked up questioningly towards the older male. "Wha? Well, yeah I suppose. I mean. What with me being king and all." Yuuri's tone alone indicated he wasn't sure but Wolfram; bright, observant, vigilant Wolfram didn't seemed to pick up on it.
Or chose to ignore it.
There was a pause and Yuuri could see Wolfram squeezing his eye with unnecessary force and twitching erratically before the other finally broke the silence coating them.
"When?" He lashed out with a quietly forceful tone. "When, do you know? You do….. don't you? Ha!"
There was a moment where Wolfram continually laughed, seemingly at him, before letting out something that sounded like a near sob. As soon as it was emitted however, the other stopped short, then his shoulders twitched while he rambled on about nothing. Continually breaking into random phrases here and there, his tone ranging in tempo, and his eyes swerving quickly to the left or right of Yuuri.
His porcelain skinned counterpart seemed to be jumping from once emotion to the next for a good few moments, before seemingly to settle on his most commonly used default outlet; anger.
"I'll bet you've already planned it! I bet you've got it set up as soon as possible. You do don't you? Don't you!?" His tone was harsh yet impossibly, evenly controlled only rising in the latter most part of his rant.
Yuuri took a step back, clearly surprised at the bout of uncharacteristic behavior. However much Wolfram tended to lash out, be it rationally or irrationally, his normal excursions were nothing in comparison to this.
"No Wolf, I honestly don't even know if I'll even have to go agai-"
"Liar!" Wolfram interrupted despairingly. He raised his head defiantly shaking it slowly with barely suppressed…something.
Suddenly Yuuri doubted that Wolfram was unaffected by the flora. Because this, he meaningfully assessed Wolfram's countenance, this was not typical Wolfram behavior.
However, he told himself despondently, maybe…
Maybe Wolfram was okay. Maybe he wasn't lying about not being affected by the pollen, to cover up his pain under all his pride.
Maybe he was finally at the breaking point that Murata had warned him of some many times before.
Maybe,…
But he'd known Wolfram for years. And this defiantly did not seem like characteristic Wolfram behavior.
Or Wolfram going bat-shit behavior either.
"You do have it planned don't you!" Wolfram snorted with contempt, soon after roughly grabbing the man in question's shoulder and began to pull him nearly a foot down so the two were at eye level.
"You do! And I know it won't be close by, oh no, once again it will be overseas! Just like the time before that and the time before that! And before that…and that…Ever since you barred me from traveling by sea, that's all you've done! To purposefully leave me behind! You lowly coward! You don't even have the balls to dismiss me to my face! Always leaving before I wake up never telling me when you'll be back!"
Yuuri was pushed in the chest, though he knew it lacked any of the power he was aware that Wolfram held.
"So stupid. I have to find out from Greta . It's so humiliating trying to weasel information on your fiancé form your daughter! But you don't care…You never care…" Wolfram trailed off sadly and Yuuri nearly took a step back, unprepared for such an unrelenting onslaught of raw… hurt. Wolfram just didn't do hurt. Yuuri knew Wolfram thought it would get him pity, and Wolfram hated pity. What was going on?
Unfortunately instead of preventing himself from doing such a rude action such as backing away, Wolfram's smoldering pained eyes and the absence of the others hand on his shoulder, alerted him that he had done it physically.
"Wimp."
Beyond Wolfram's form he could see troops training in the field. Their shouts; either of determination or fury, he couldn't tell though you think he should after being with Wolfram for so long, seemed to perforate even the most outlandish ranges and he half wondered if they were Wolfram's troops.
"You're ignoring me." Wolfram stated turning his head towards the thick clumps of ivy strangling the western end of the castle. "That's fine you know." He commented indolently.
Jarred out of his stupor Yuuri could only blink hastily as he tried to remember his previous line of thought. Fine? No, it most certainly was not fine. Wolfram, his Wolfram, would be having a hissy fit. Of course however, this was Wolfram though.
"No, it's not fine. I was just thinking. I don't know if I have a trip coming up or not. But whether I do or don't, I'll just tell Gwendal and Günter to stuff it! I mean, I'm the Maou right? What I say goes." For some reason he couldn't name Yuuri's insides suddenly seemed to gain the ability to levitate as Wolfram's emerald eyes lit up and he dashed forward to give the raven a hug that would have put even his own mother to shame.
"Oh, Yuuri!" He crooned. His masculine tone offset by his petite frame melded against Yuuri's own, and Yuuri stiffened at the reminder of just how close they were. Moreover, his brow shot up impossibly high at the tone exuding from Wolfram's normally artistically poised form.
"It's nothing." He spoke assuredly, feeling inclined to say more on the matter after Wolfram's praise. "Besides, I really want a break you know? That entire peace gathering stuff gets old. I finally get to relax. Have some time to myself… Do whatever I what."
Wolfram straightened in his hold and Yuuri, used to his comments receiving Wolfram's tantrums, prepared for the onslaught of things to come. Although profoundly ill-equipped for what came.
"What about me?" His tone had a new lilt in it. One Yuuri couldn't recall ever having heard before, save for in movies.
Wolfram gently tugged him an inch or so down before getting on his tippy-toes and elevating himself enough to whisper into Yuuri's ear, while fingering the other's black tresses softly.
"Wha-? Wha-Wolfram!"
"Hmm? You said you would do..whatever…you…wanted." He pulled back regally, exuding all the poise of a democrat.
However Yuuri stood transfixed at Wolfram's eyes. Fascinated by how utterly dark they were. Like the blackest pits of hell…dusted in green pixie dust.
Wolfram chuckled low with a husky quality that Yuuri wasn't quite sure he liked, and for a reason Yuuri didn't know.
But was made clear when: "Really now, Hell, Yuuri? And pixie dust, hmm?"
Yuuri was understandably mortified.
"I-It's not what you thing! I just.. When did your ey-" Yuuri trailed off slowly when Wolfram made no move to look at him.
The blonde smoothly passed him by and, without looking over his shoulder once, returned into his studio, wandered to the right and unhurriedly sat on the bed.
"I can take you there you know." He added seductively. Then Yuuri wracked his brain trying to figure out just how he knew what Wolframs tone inclined.
"W-where?" He stuttered briefly hating himself, not for the first time that day, for his naivety. On behalf of the fact that his gut was driving him nuts, his instincts were going out of control, alerting every nerve-ending of every fiber of his being to the same thing.
But Yuuri had now clue as to what that thing was.
Author's Note: I'm actually quite miffed that all of my paragraphs are so spare and choppy when applied to a web-view format like FF. I guess I'll deal with it though as it's how I have always typed my stories. It does give me an entirely new appreciation for those who upload massive chapters with huge text blocks. XD
Reading is appreciated, reviewing is loved.
