The first part is pointless, really. I just love Conrad and Gwendal's brotherly stuff. ^^; Had to put it in.
Most times, Wolfram refers to Gwendal as 'aniue', but I'm going to just use 'Gwendal'; It's weird writing 'brother and I...', so it'll be 'Gwendal and I...' ^^; or whatever else I have in mind.
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"Well, that was close." Gwendal scowled at Conrad after they received their latest report form their Kotsuhizoku. "We could have lost both of them."
Conrad gave Gwendal a tolerant look and sighed. "You should have more faith in them."
"Shin Makoku cannot afford to take that chance!"
Conrad narrowed his eyes and stared at his brother. He knew that when Gwendal said 'Shin Makoku', many times he meant 'Gwendal'. "Shin Makoku cannot afford NOT to. They are going to take care of the future, Gwendal. You have to trust them to take care of each other."
Gwendal's jaw clamped tightly shut; Conrad was afraid he would actually shatter some teeth.
"I'm worried about them, too," Conrad offered quietly, knowing that Gwendal would rather spend the day with Anissina than admit it.
"We COULD move in a little closer," Conrad continued. "Just a few of us, or they would notice all of the ruckus."
"Hmph," was Gwendal's only reply, as he continued to scowl at everything.
Conrad knew that Gwendal trusted that the two would look out for each other, but he supposed it was the eldest brother's lot to worry over his siblings. Conrad smiled at the thought and couldn't help feeling lucky. He gave his brother a sidelong glance and felt warm in his heart. He was very lucky indeed.
.
.
This was not happening.
Yuuri walked after the blond, shivering almost uncontrollably. His mind numbly replayed all the times that he had spurned Wolfram's love… Wolfram's touch… And, it torturously broadcasted all the times he had said hurtful, insensitive things to Wolfram.
All that time, the blond had taken it all. Sure, Wolfram had fought back, it was his nature, but he had never… complained. He had never cried. Through it all, Wolfram had never given up. He had always been by Yuuri's side… even when Yuuri had pushed him away…
This was not happening.
Images of Wolfram risking his life for Yuuri flashed across his mind amidst the horrible images of him ignoring the blond.
"Then I'll fall with you." Wolfram had said as he held on to Yuuri. The blond was willing to die with him… and all Yuuri could think about at the time was Conrad's arm…
Yuuri wasn't even aware of where they were going; he didn't care. As long as he could feel Wolfram in front of him… and that was an awareness that was more subconscious than anything else since he really couldn't see through all the water in his eyes…
Yuuri wiped at them absently. Why was there water in his eyes? They were already out of that pool and the liquid in THAT couldn't even be called water.
While Yuuri was struggling with the shocking realization that he had been a total jerk and that Wolfram really would be better off without him, the blond had stopped walking and Yuuri smacked right into his back.
Yuuri blinked in confusion and rubbed his sore nose. Wolfram stood stock-still and Yuuri couldn't help but look at the ground to see if they had inadvertently walked into another sinking pool.
They had not. Then Wolfram unsheathed his sword and pushed Yuuri back, away from him. The young Maou couldn't understand what was happening; his mind was still in a fog. Was Wolfram really tired of him and ready to use that sword on him?
But, Wolfram didn't turn around; he continued to stare straight ahead. Yuuri peered around the blond to see what Wolfram was so taken with… and saw three large men rummaging through their campsite.
"Stay out of sight, Yuuri," Wolfram whispered, eyes still on the oblivious men. Yuuri's heart sang; Wolfram was using his name again. He realized it was a stupidly small thing, but he couldn't help but feel happy… well, happier than he had been a few seconds ago.
Yuuri looked down at himself and realized that, underneath all the drying mud, he was wearing nothing but a pair of shorts; he had left Morgif by the stream when he had run after Wolfram. Gods, he WAS an idiot! Now he couldn't help Wolfram!
But, he would not let Wolfram fight alone. He knew that Wolfram was quite handy with his sword, and that he was probably going to hinder more than help… but he couldn't let Wolfram face danger alone, not when he had abandoned Wolfram so many times in the past.
So, when Wolfram stepped out into the open and made himself known, Yuuri was right behind him.
The men looked up from whatever they were rummaging through and stared at them. They didn't look like they were very smart to Yuuri. None of them was armed, but they sneered and advanced towards the armed Wolfram anyway.
"Hey! It's the Mazoku pretty boy. I remember you!" One of them said through crooked teeth. "Aren't you too far inside human territory, pretty boy?"
Wolfram's hand tightened on his sword, but he said nothing; Yuuri glanced at the blond questioningly. "You know them?"
"They're wearing common soldier's uniforms, but from the look of it, I'd say they're deserters."
"Not… OUR soldiers?"
"Of course not!" Wolfram growled. "No Mazoku would be caught dead in that getup. Gwendal and I may have had a run in with them a few months back when they tried to sink a ship from Dai Shimeron."
"Good memory. Where are your troops now?" Ugly, large man #1 stepped in front of Wolfram and threw something at the Mazoku; Yuuri couldn't see what it was, but the powdery stuff hung in the air around the blond like a thick cloud of smoke. Wolfram seemed to have frozen in place.
Ugly #2 laughed, while Ugly #3 picked up a log that was half burning in the fire. He pushed Ugly #1 back and waved the log with a jeer in front of Wolfram. "You didn't know about Tinges root powder, did you? It comes in quite handy in close quarter fights with Mazoku. Can't move, can ya?"
Yuuri stepped up in front of Wolfram, close enough to be enclosed in the dusty air. He spread his arms to the sides, blocking anyone who would try to get to the blond. Yuuri sniffed the air experimentally, and when he didn't feel any effect, grinned at the three men. "I can move," he told them smugly. Then, he reached back without turning around and took Wolfram's sword from the blond's hand and faced the Three Uglies.
"Who's first?"
Yuuri couldn't explain the sudden rush of adrenalin that made his entire body sing. Well he COULD probably explain the actual chemical part – it was a normal physical response to danger. What he couldn't explain was that he was ACTUALLY very eager for the fight. Maybe he had been hanging around Yozak too long. Or even Wolfram; the blond was always in a hurry to fight… well, that was usually WITH Yuuri. The young Maou sighed. If they ever got out of this, he would change all that. He vowed he would try to understand the blond more. Really, he would.
"Yuuri! Don't space out now!"
Wolfram's pained voice broke through his thoughts, and Yuuri looked up in time to see the huge arm bearing the log coming down on him. He sidestepped it and swung up the sword, cutting the log in half. The man growled and threw the stump in his hand at Yuuri, but he ducked in time, and the piece of wood landed somewhere in the bushes behind him.
Yuuri looked past the man to the others and saw that Kohi had taken one of them and was flying off somewhere. Yuuri grimaced and yelled, "Don't kill him!" At the same time, Yuuri couldn't help feeling uneasy at the part of him that wanted that man dead… very, very dead. He shuddered at the thought. What was happening to him?
"YUURI!" Wolfram called frantically. Eventhough Yuuri couldn't possibly see what had alarmed the blond so much, he somehow knew to roll to the right… and came up with the pummel of his sword shoving hard into his opponent's stomach.
"Yuuri…" This time, Wolfram's voice held no fear, only surprise. Yuuri couldn't afford to look at his fiancé yet; he felt no danger to the blond. The danger was in front of him. There were only two Uglies left, and one of them was hunched over in obvious pain. Yuuri didn't know he could hit so hard. Hmmm… that was pretty cool.
But, both of the Uglies were now staring at him in horror and they began to back away from him slowly… at first. Within seconds, they turned and broke into a run and disappeared into the woods.
"Hn." Well, that wasn't so hard. Yuuri would have loved to see the look on Gwendal's face when he found out that Yuuri could very well take care of himself… as well as Wolfram. With a happy smile, Yuuri turned back to the blond. Wolfram was on his knees and staring at Yuuri, his mouth hung open in that adorable way that Yuuri recently found irresistible. Yuuri quickly squashed that thought down.
Yuuri rushed to his fiancé's side and knelt down next to the blond. "Are you okay, Wolfram?" His own voice sounded strange to him, but Yuuri pushed the thought aside to focus on Wolfram.
The young Mazoku slowly nodded, his bright eyes fixed on Yuuri's face. Yuuri let out another relieved sigh. "Where does it hurt?" Yuuri began patting Wolfram down to make sure that the blond was indeed injury free, but Wolfram pushed his hands away.
Yuuri's heart constricted again. He looked up hesitantly, fearful that he would see hatred or anger. But, Wolfram was only staring at him like he had grown another head or…oh, no. Not THAT!
Wolfram must have read his expression, for he nodded slowly again. The blond reached out and touched a tendril of hair at the base of Yuuri's neck. He pulled on it gently, his eyes filled with wonder.
"You're still… you haven't…" Wolfram didn't go on but continued to play with his hair. Then he ran a hand over Yuuri's forehead, brushing the suddenly unruly hair away from Yuuri's face.
Yuuri was stunned, too. He looked down at his body and pulled on his own hair, trying to see what Wolfram was seeing. He didn't see the shimmering blue fire that usually accompanied his transformation, and he certainly felt very much like himself… only more so. He couldn't explain the increased awareness he was feeling… it was as if he was connected to everything.
Including the twenty odd men camping a few miles away. Hmmm… he would have to have a long talk with Conrad.
"Yuuri… how do you feel?" Wolfram's gentle question brought Yuuri back to his fiancé, and he was elated to see the concern and love still radiating from the blond.
Yuuri smiled and captured Wolfram's hand. He brought it to his lips and kissed the palm reverently. "I feel fine." Yuuri was irritated that his voice was doing that baritone thing again, but he ignored it. Wolfram, on the other hand, seemed quite affected by it; Yuuri could definitely work with it.
Wolfram blushed and tried to pull his hand away, but Yuuri held on tight.
"You sounded pained earlier. Where does it hurt?"
Wolfram shook his head; the blush still tinting his cheeks attractively. "It's gone now. It only hurt when I fought the effect of the powder."
"Come back with me," Yuuri said suddenly. "I want only you by my side." Yuuri blinked – and HE was the one who said that. What the…? Well, sure he wanted Wolfram to come home… and he was pretty sure he wanted more than friendship from Wolfram… but he certainly hadn't planned on saying it THAT way. He was practically commanding it
Wolfram frowned as he studied Yuuri carefully, trying to decide what it was that Yuuri really wanted. His lips parted slightly and Yuuri couldn't help his gaze from drifting to them. The memories of the sweetness between those lips danced in his mind, making his hand tighten convulsively around Wolfram's own.
The faint blush on Wolfram's cheeks turned full bloom, as Wolfram realized what Yuuri was thinking. He tugged on his hand again, suddenly shy. "Yuuri…"
At that moment, Yuuri felt light headed, and he shook his head vigorously to clear it. When he looked up at Wolfram again, the blond was really frowning at him.
"I'm sorry, Wolfram," Yuuri said hurriedly. He was vaguely aware that his voice had gone back to its normal tone, but he spared it a tiniest of thoughts. Wolfram seemed to still be in some kind of shock, so Yuuri might as well use this to his advantage. "I don't want to marry Conrad. I want… I want to stay engaged to you… marry you. Please. Is that okay?"
The lightheaded feeling intensified, and Yuuri found himself falling forward, right into Wolfram's arms.
"Wimp," Wolfram said softly. He didn't sound upset and he wasn't pushing Yuuri away. The young Maou was very grateful for that.
Yuuri sat up, with the support of Wolfram, and then he looked into his fiancé's eyes.
"So… will you come back with me?" He asked hesitantly.
Wolfram looked displeased yet thoughtful at the same time. Yuuri wondered what was going on in that pretty, little blond head of his.
Then Wolfram pushed Yuuri off and got up with a huff. "Oh, so you think turning into the Maou and saving my life is good enough for me? Think again, Yuuri! It's going to take much more than that for us to be engaged again!" And then, the blond marched into their campsite and started to assess the damage.
"But…but…" Yuuri knew that he had almost had Wolfram. The blond had nearly given in. He had been all… swoony and everything! What the hell had happened? "We're not engaged anymore?" He asked in disbelief.
"It's… on probation." Wolfram said over his shoulders.
Yuuri's felt a surge of joy. Though he'd never heard that engagements could be put on probation, the concept itself wasn't new to him. He knew what it meant...it meant he had a second chance. He ran into the campsite after Wolfram, eager to show that he could be useful. Yuuri felt strangely giddy. He was pretty sure there was a huge, silly grin on his face, too.
"Where's Morgif?" Wolfram asked suddenly from inside the tent.
"Uh… I think I left him by the stream."
Wolfram sighed and muttered something about an idiot. He poked his head out of the tent and said, "If you don't go get him, he'll rust." Then Wolfram noticed the look on Yuuri's face. The blond ducked back into the tent, but not before Yuuri saw how flushed Wolfram looked.
Yuuri's heart sang again. He had another chance and he had better not screw it up.
"What are you waiting for, Yuuri? Morgif to call you?"
"I'm going! I'm going!" Yuuri laughed and ran towards the stream.
From now on, he promised himself… he would do everything right. Really
TBC…
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Hah! Famous last words!
Last notes: Tinges root powder mentioned in this chapter is just a figment of my imagination. ^_^
