Chapter 10

"So what you're saying is that Yuuri Heika managed to not only escape Stoffel but scare him so bad that he sent us a treaty requesting peace barely a day later?!"

Gwendal was practically yelling at the Conrad and the others in the room though it was more out of confusion than anger. The dark grey haired man was looking back and forth between the paper in his hands and the double-black repeatedly in disbelief. Wolfram refused to say anything on Yuuri's behalf and so said double-black was fidgeting in place.

"Am I in trouble?" Yuuri looked up warily at Gwendal with a half-hearted apologetic smile that made him drop the papers in his hand.

Even if Gwendal hadn'tbeen a sucker for anything relatively innocent or adorable, to stay mad at a face like that was like staying mad at a really cute puppy. You can't do it. If you do you're just evil. Conrad sighed.

"No Heika, you are not in trouble. We're just wondering what exactly went on while you were there. You don't have to tell us if you don't want to." He was afraid he might get Yuuri upset or something if he tried to force him, but Yuuri didn't seem to be too upset by the question. He simply nodded slowly.

"I woke up in a room alone then… Stoffel and a guy named Raven came in. At first I was really scared but then I tried to ask where Wolfram was and… well I got really mad because they said they k-killed him." And then I lost it… Yuuri shuddered before Wolfram put a hand on his shoulder gently.

"Yuuri, I'm right here you know." Yuuri nodded, grateful for the reassurance. Wolfram's brothers were shocked at how much Yuuri's expression changed just by the touch of his hand.

"What happened then Heika?" Conrad pressed on. Yuuri sighed.

"I… Ifrozethemtothewall." Yuuri rushed his words quietly; he didn't really want to give them a reason to hate him. Not now. Not when they seemed to like him.

"What?" Nobody heard what he said and if it hadn't been for Wolfram's gentle prodding he might not have said anything more.

"I froze Stoffel and Raven to one wall, then I broke the other wall and jumped out of it and ran until I found you guys… I forgot I froze them though so I didn't unfreeze them until after I woke up here." Yuuri looked at them and realized they were all looking at him in disbelief. "What?"

"Heika… For one, ice doesn't last that long, and-"

"Are you calling him a liar?" Wolfram stood up angrily. "I for one know that Yuuri can make ice that lasts that long and won't break!" Yuuri tried to grab Wolfram's arm to get him to sit down, but the blonde was busy going through the pockets on the inside of his jacket for some reason.

"Wolfram, please sit down. I wasn't accusing him of-"

"See?" Wolfram pulled out the rose Yuuri had made him and Yuuri gave him the brightest smile ever.

"You kept that?" Wolfram's face turned pink and he nodded as his brothers looked at it.

"O-Of course I kept it… why wouldn't I?" Wolfram mumbled as his brothers stared at the intricate flower.

"H-Heika, you made that?" Yuuri nodded. "That's… it's impossible, yet it's right there!" Wolfram wanted to laugh at their expressions.

"Y-Yeah…" Yuuri looked at the flower happily. I'm so glad he likes it!

"Yuuri, would you mind doing some for us?" Yuuri looked at Wolfram and then back at Gwendal who had spoken.

"What?" Gwendal blinked in confusion at the question.

"Could you make another flower or something?"

"No!" Yuuri covered his mouth after shouting and looked down as everyone looked at him in shock from the outburst. "I-I mean… the flower was only for Wolfram… you can't have one."

Yuuri stared at the ground while Wolfram's face turned its new favorite shade of red and Gwendal sputtered as he realized how the king must have taken his words.

"I just meant that you could show us something with the ice is all! I didn't mean to upset you Heika, honest!"

Conrad tried to hide his soft laughter behind one hand as Wolfram and Gwendal both tried to convince Yuuri he didn't have to do anything he didn't want to and that Gwendal 'absolutely did not mean to say he wanted a flower for himself.' (Wolfram later told his brother to never 'flirt' with Yuuri, even accidentally)

Eventually Yuuri (thanks to massive encouragement on Wolfram's part) showed them the different animals he could make with water.

It was easily accepted that he had a vast amount of magic and an exceptional control over it. He would have played with it some more, but he quietly told them he was tired and… well that was that.

Yuuri and Wolfram were in their room and Yuuri kept staring at the blonde. It was making him uncomfortable.

"Yuuri, why on earth are you staring at me?" Yuuri blinked several times, he hadn't realized he had been.

"Oh. I don't know." Yuuri looked up at the ceiling above him.

The double-black was already in his pajamas and lying down while Wolfram (since it wasn't quite time for bed yet) was still in his uniform and had been trying to read a book. Wolfram sighed.

"Yuuri, are you feeling alright? Do you want something to eat?" Yuuri sat up and shook his head.

"No, I'm fine thanks."

Yuuri, moments later, was leaning forward again and staring at Wolfram unconsciously. He only stopped when Wolfram slammed the book he was reading shut and tossed it to the side before glaring at Yuuri.

"Do you mind?" Yuuri jolted.

"Mind what?" Wolfram looked at him with exasperation.

"You keep staring at me! Is there something wrong?" Yuuri shook his head. "Then why do you keep staring at me?"

"I don't know, maybe because I think you're pretty?" Yuuri clapped his hands over his mouth as Wolfram's face turned red. "P-Please don't be mad at me!" He squeaked through his fingers.

While Wolfram tried to figure out why Yuuri thought he was mad and comprehend that he had actually used the word 'pretty' to describe him, the double-black in question had completely buried himself under the covers in the bed.

Yuuri heard footsteps and he hoped that Wolfram wasn't leaving the room in anger. He realized that this wasn't the case when the footsteps came closer and he felt a weight on the mattress shift him to the side slightly with a tiny bounce.

"Yuuri." Yuuri flinched under the blanket which made Wolfram sigh. "Yuuri, I am not mad at you. Why would I be mad at you?"

"You're not?" His voice was cutely muffled by the blanket and Wolfram found it adorable as he squirmed out of the blanket and sat up. He acted like such a child sometimes!

"Of course I'm not mad at you! I think it's s-sweet that you think I'm…"

"Pretty?" Wolfram nodded slowly. "I just thought you might be mad because pretty is a girl word and you're a boy and-"

"Don't worry about it Yuuri." Gods, you're ruining the compliment… He added silently.

Yuuri smiled and yawned before lying back down. He apologized once more sleepily before falling asleep much too quickly. Wolfram cursed to himself and worked on willing his blush away.

He contemplated if he should go ask Gisela if it was healthy to have such reactions to simple words and actions. That coupled with his irregular palpitations and the choked breathing he sometimes experienced when Yuuri hugged him or just smiled the right way could not be normal.

Dammit! Even thinking about it makes my heart hurt!

Normally Yuuri would sleep right through it, it wouldn't affect him at all. But now that he had been eating at regular intervals, his stomach grumbling woke him up. He sighed as he looked up towards the ceiling. Wolfram was out on a mission with his soldiers and it was depressing to think about.

Yuuri stood up and sighed as he walked behind the divider to change clothes. He pulled off his shirt and noticed that his necklace was glowing.

Well that's new. He picked it up gently only to drop it as it burnt his fingers.

"Ow… Ow!" After it fell back against his chest it burned his skin there as well. "What the heck?" Yuuri pulled it by the string but it wouldn't come off. He cursed to himself as he summoned a small amount of ice to cool the burns on his chest and fingers.

He stared at the glowing necklace in utter confusion. Yuuri had a very high pain tolerance due to being beaten for years, but the sting from the necklace was extremely painful! He was leaning forwards now to keep it off of his skin, but why couldn't he pull it off of him? His hunger had been completely forgotten.

He stared at the necklace in confusion until it stopped glowing and returned to its normal state. He poked it gently before standing up straight again and sighing. Had it not been for the burn mark on his chest he might not have believed that it had done that in the first place. How strange, it hadn't been so much as giving him warmth for the past several days…

"What are you?"

"What's what now?" Yuuri jolted and pulled on his uniform shirt as he heard Conrad's voice from the other side of the divider. He laughed awkwardly. "Sorry for not knocking Heika."

"It's fine! And it's nothing, just talking to myself!" Conrad shrugged and waited for Yuuri to come out. When he did his eyes lit up and he smiled. "You brought food!" The brunette laughed.

"I take it that means you were hungry after all." Yuuri nodded eagerly and grabbed a roll from atop the tray Wolfram had brought.

"Fanks Conrad!" Conrad smiled and nodded. He was glad Yuuri was much more open now.

Yuuri took the tray and plopped down in a chair as he began to eat. Conrad smiled and sat down with him even though he had already eaten. Yuuri ate in silence with a smile.

"Wolf! Wolf! You're back!" Yuuri was jumping up and down excitedly while yelling across the courtyard. Wolfram sighed.

"You know, you really aren't acting in a way that's proper for … never mind. It's good to be back." He stopped his reprimand at the pout Yuuri gave him. It was simply too damn irresistible.

"I missed you!" Had Wolfram not been strong he would have fallen over from the hug that started as a run. Instead he caught him and felt his face heat up as he heard poorly concealed snickers from various observers.

"Y-Yuuri, you can't just hug me whenever you feel like it." Yuuri backed up and fell off of Wolfram with a frown. He landed on his butt, but it didn't hurt. He had felt worse.

"I can't?"

"No you can't! I'm a soldier and people are supposed to respect me, not laugh at me because I let you hug me everywhere!" Wolfram didn't notice Yuuri's lower lip quivering, or the tear that slipped from his left eye.

"Y-Y-You… You hate me don't you?" Yuuri felt his heart clench when Wolfram turned back to him and waved his arms in denial.

"No! I don't hate you! I just meant-" Yuuri didn't hear him. He was too busy grabbing at the necklace which was burning him. "Yuuri?"

"I-It hurts!" Yuuri's shirt got a hole burned through it and Wolfram gaped at the red-hot necklace.

"Yuuri, what is that?! Yuuri!" Laughter had ceased completely and soldiers had run to see what the problem was. "Yuuri, take it off!"

"I-It won't come off!" Wolfram tried to pull it off, but it wouldn't move.

"Stop hurting my fiancé you stupid necklace!" Wolfram didn't care that people were staring anymore.

F-Fiancé? He still… The necklace stopped glowing and Yuuri sighed in relief.

T-Thank Shinou… "We're getting you to Gisela. Now." Yuuri didn't argue. Wolfram helped Yuuri up and nearly carried him. Yuuri noted once more that Wolfram was much stronger than he looked.

Hehehe... those of you familiar with Full Metal Alchemist are familiar with the concept of equivalent trade yes? A certain somebody is posting a new chapter of her story soon, so I posted mine mostly as a sort of 'trade' with her. In other news, I'm eating home-made doughnuts and drinking iced tea. It's a nice day.

(Check out Scars by Seishin No Za Tsuki... it's yuuram!)