Chapter 11

Yuuri and Wolfram broke the surface of the water, and remained soaking wet. Why? Because Yuuri was too deep in thought to notice that he was still wet, along with Wolfram.

He did, however, notice out of the corner of his eye that a certain daughter of his was rapidly approaching.

"Daddy Yuuri!"

In one swift motion, Yuuri scooped the now giggling girl into his arms, twirled her around, and threw her over his shoulder. He then realized;

"Ack! We're all wet!" And whoosh, the water was gone. Magic is awesome.

Greta's laughter was enough to calm Yuuri's thoughts, but as he looked up to see his surroundings, his smile morphed into a frown.

Gwendal, Gunther, and Conrad were all standing stiffly and with frowns on their faces; and by the looks of it, it wasn't a minor thing. As depressing as it was, and as bad a mood he had already been in, Yuuri could only think of two things that would make everybody look so solemn… and he didn't think he was dead.

"Gwendal, status report please." Yuuri's no-nonsense tone momentarily stunned the stoic man.

"Of course Heika. Unfortunately enemies of the demon kingdom learned of your absence and took that chance to try and invade. We are currently at war, though we have managed so far to hold our own in-"

Yuuri's face had gone pale at first, but now it was full of color in his anger. War? How could this have happened in such a short period of time? Was nothing ever easy? His thoughts were interrupted when Gwendal's voice came back into focus and he realized he had zoned out.

"-and I can tell you're upset by this, but I'm going to have to ask you to go back to your world. Maybe you can hide there until-"

"Not a chance." Yuuri interjected, making all present blink in confusion and stare at him.

"H-Heika, please," Conrad tried to placate him "it isn't safe here for you. It would be easier for us to be sure you were safe if-"

"And how would I be able to make sure you were safe if I was gone? No way am I leaving you all here! I want to-" Yuuri fumed as he was cut off by Gunther.

"Heika! We understand your ever-so-kind wish to make sure we're all safe, but you are our main priority! Without you all hope is lost!"

All during this time Greta was holding her Papa Wolf's hand, and both she and the blonde were silent. The soldier in Wolfram was aching to come out and demand to be told more details and to be allowed to fight, but the part of him that loved Yuuri and respected his wishes struggled with it wholeheartedly.

The blonde's grip tightened ever so slightly on Greta's hand, and the young girl looked up at him in confusion. She wasn't 100% sure what was going on, but she wasn't happy that her papas weren't happy.

"I don't… you can't expect me go back there and leave you here to fight. You can't make me. I don't mean to be a stubborn brat, but I will if that's what it takes!" Yuuri took a deep calming breath to regain his senses before continuing calmly. "I don't know what time it is right now, but I suggest we all go to Gwendal's office and talk about this, if that's alright with you Gwendal."

A stiff, negative shake of the head was his response, and before Yuuri could lose his temper, Wolfram grabbed his arm. Yuuri tensed and turned back to see his blonde and his brunette side-by-side.

"Yuuri, if you stay here you'll only get into trouble. If not for yourself, do it for me and everyone else. Take Greta and go back to earth for a few days and it'll all be over." Green eyes stared at Yuuri in determination, his inner soldier winning out for the time being.

"Wait… what about you Wolf?" Yuuri breathed.

"I'm a soldier Yuuri, I have responsibilities and I can't just run away from them. You've trained with me, and my soldiers, and you know how strong we are. I'll be fine here." Wolfram's resolve wavered when tears began to fall from Yuuri's eyes.

It was out of his hands, wasn't it? He may be the king, but if he ordered them to stop fighting then the other side would win. It had already started and he was too late.

There weren't many things Yuuri wanted control over as king, but peace was a huge one of them. He took care of his people and they took care of him, he loved his kingdom and he didn't want to lose any of them; but there was more than that.

"Wolf, I don't want to lose you… you can't… please don't tell me you're going to make me go back without you." To Yuuri's shock, Wolfram pulled him into a brief chaste kiss, right in front of everyone else.

"I can't make you do anything, but if you don't stay safe I won't forgive you… please Yuuri."

Yuuri looked at the blonde and then briefly at the others who were staring. How much trouble would he be in if he stayed? They wouldn't let him do anything, and the only way to get past them would hurt them.

Yuuri choked as he realized something he knew all along, they were doing this because they loved him. They wanted him safe, and it would be a slap in the face (of not the good type) to all of them if he refused to stay safe. Sure he could handle himself, sure he was strong, but mentally he still had so many problems.

He wasn't a trained soldier, he wasn't a general who knew how to command soldiers with practiced ease, he didn't know how to… he couldn't do anything. Was all he could actually accomplish running away?

Didn't they say before that running away never solved anything? That it caused more problems in the long run?

Well there was one thing Yuuri remembered being told. He had to use his words if he wanted to tell people how he felt.

"Are you sure you won't come with me willingly Wolf?" Wolfram nodded in response.

If his words didn't work, actions were all he had left.

Yuuri gave the three older men an apologetic look and a nod before grabbing Greta's hand and opening the portal. The young girl was beginning to tear up as well now, not completely sure what was going on but smart enough to know it was important and definitely not good.

He let Greta step into the portal before him and made sure she got through. He turned around and wiped his tears away as he looked at everyone else in the room.

"I'm sorry, but I can't leave without him." Yuuri, moving faster than the others could even register, grabbed the blonde and threw him over his shoulder.

"Y-Yuuri! Put me down! Don't you dare take me! PUT ME DOWN!" Wolfram screamed at Yuuri and flailed, punching his fiancé in the back to try and free himself.

It hurt, it hurt worse than anything because it was pain from a loved one, but Yuuri bit through it. There was a time when you had to grow a pair and deal with things as best you could.

He jumped into the watery portal, ignoring the shouts of his lover.

- Double line -

Yuuri coughed as Wolfram got a good hit, kneeing him in the stomach. It was lucky he couldn't drown, or he might have lost in his struggle to keep the portal open with an unhappy passenger.

Didn't he realize how dangerous it could be if he was released in the middle of their travel?

Regardless, as soon as Yuuri surfaced, he released Wolfram onto the ground as gently as he could. It was hard because the blonde was still struggling.

The sound of scurrying footsteps outside the bathroom and in his room, accompanied by squeaks of surprise told him that Greta was looking around at all the new things in the hotel room.

"Yuuri, how could you?" Wolfram looked utterly betrayed, and Yuuri still couldn't bring himself to regret forcing him to come.

"I am not about to lose you Wolf. I love you too much for that."

Wolfram's eyes raged and Yuuri was incredibly glad he couldn't so much as summon a spark on earth; it might have made a mess.

"Yuuri, that's not your choice! I have a right to choose what I want to do in life too you know! Now let me go back, now! It's probably already been hours there! Yuuri, are you listening?! Yuuri!" The blonde was very red now in his anger, and Yuuri worried for his blood pressure.

Yuuri grabbed the sides of his face and made him look in the eyes. Seething green orbs met black ones that showed that Yuuri refused to budge in his determination. Deep down Wolfram knew it was just to keep him safe, but he hated being denied his own choice.

"If asking you as your fiancé to trust my decision isn't enough for you, then I have no choice but to order you as your king; calm down Wolfram." Yuuri released Wolfram when his face went blank in his shock. "I'm going to go take Greta downstairs to the lobby and get her a snack. Hopefully you will… have a better grasp on your emotions by the time I get back." Yuuri's tone seemed to plead his Wolf to understand.

Resisting the great urge to break down and apologize for upsetting him, to hold his blonde and tell him he just wanted what was best regardless of possible struggling that might happen in his arms… he didn't. He couldn't.

Yuuri turned on his heel and left the bathroom to fetch Greta who was more than happy to get out of the room and see more of the fascinating building.

Utterly shocked and rather betrayed by Yuuri's choice of words and course of action, Wolfram slumped to the floor. He then curled up with his knees to his chest, wishing he had something more comforting than himself to hold.

"H-How could you?" He choked as he realized tears were now slipping out of his eyes. "Yuuri…"

- Line -

Though Greta was utterly thrilled to eat the amazing confection know as ice-cream (cupcake flavored) she had always had more than enough curiosity to kill a cat or two.

"Daddy Yuuri, why isn't Papa Wolf here? I thought I heard his voice. Didn't you bring him?" A few passing glances were received to the strange language spoken, but they were pointedly ignored.

Yuuri didn't struggle too long to cover for himself. He had experience in such verbally evasive tactics; you could ask Gwendal.

"Wolf… he doesn't like traveling when it has anything to do with water. You know that." A twinge of guilt hit Yuuri when she nodded understandingly, even though he wasn't exactly lying.

"Oh." She grinned a moment later. "He'll join us later right?" At Yuuri's nod her grin only grew and she began to ramble. "Are we going to meet your friends here on earth? Can we go somewhere fun? Is it true that all the animals here make strange noises? Do-"

Yuuri began laughing and scooped her up in his arms, almost making her drop her treat.

"One thing at a time sweetheart." A figurative light bulb lit above his head and he smiled playfully. "Remind me to take you to the amusement park. We'll have to find out if you'll like roller coasters."

"Huh?"

An in-depth discussion took place about the exciting machines. Yuuri hid his sadness regarding them rather well, seeing as the only time he had been was with his real parents. Nonetheless, they were rather fond memories and he was more than happy to share them with his daughter.

...

So I hope it was implied that the war was related to chapter 21 of TPOTAL1 in the meeting of ten nobles, but I also felt it wasn't too important to elaborate since it's… well, implied. Oh well.

I found my muse again. I locked it in a cage. Bitch ain't getting out of that for a looooong time if I can help it. (We can only hope, right?)