But I Don't Like Boys? by Shukumei

Disclaimer: Kyou Kara Maou and all its characters belong to Tomo Takabayashi, Temari Matsumoto, Kadokawa Shoten Publishing Co, etc. You know the drill.

Warnings/Spoilers: This does take place after the end of the anime's 2nd season, but as of right now, there's not too much in the way of spoilers. This is a boy/boy love story, and therefore, two guys will be involved in a relationship together. If this isn't your cup of tea, I suggest you find another story... Also, rating may or may not go up in later chapters.

Author yapping: Again, I'm terribly sorry for the wait, especially for BIDLB... For those of you that are coming back, thanks for sticking around! I hope to get some inspiration back and get this puppy rolling. And for those of you just joining, welcome, and I hope you continue to stick around, however long it may be. XD Hey, I've had to wait long bouts of time for some of the fics I've read, too.

-o-o-

Chapter 19: Sudden Friction

Yuri sighed, leaning heavily against the side of the bath, resting his arms under his chin. "Just don't make fun of me, Wolfram."

"Why would I make fun of you?" Wolfram asked some distance behind Yuri in the water.

"I don't know. Just don't say anything to distract me, and I'll try again." Yuri didn't want to turn around; seeing Wolfram would probably make it all go down the drain. He closed his eyes for extra measure, thinking of the blue-haired women, Amelia, but he felt so weird trying to picture someone he knew next to nothing about. When Yuri had thought about Wolfram, his abilities - or whatever they were - reacted almost immediately. But thinking about Wolfram only rooted him there.

Perhaps if he thought about someone he knew better; he could picture Greta with her big brown eyes and curly auburn hair. Yuri smiled. Yes, he might be able to use Greta as his focus instead.

That is, until there was a loud splash and a feminine shriek echoed through the bath chambers. "Your Majesty!" Amelia threw herself at the edge of the bath next to Yuri, panting for air. "Thank Shinou you're alright."

Yuri blinked at her, slightly irritated that his focus had been interrupted, but feeling guilty he had made her worry for some reason. "Why wouldn't I be?"

Amelia turned to Yuri with wide eyes. "When you didn't show up in the water out in the courtyard, we started to worry. You could have gotten stuck somewhere, Your Majesty! Shinou knows what would have happened if you hadn't successfully teleported yourself and you had drowned in the middle of the ocean with no escape."

Yuri swallowed nervously. "No one told me it was that dangerous!" He paled and dropped his head onto the bath's edge, suddenly dizzy.

"That's why you can never be distracted," Amelia said with a sigh. "Your Majesty, you have to be very careful of where you want to go." She turned her head to face Wolfram and frowned. "And stop distracting him."

Wolfram blushed, embarrassed that there were now two people fully clothed in the bath with him. Great. "But I didn't do anything," he whined, dipping all but his head into the water.

"Don't think I don't know why His Majesty ended up here, Wolfram von Bielefield." Amelia ran a hand over her wet hair and smirked. "Maybe I should drag you along to help with teaching Yuri to use his maryoku properly."

"So..." Yuri lifted up his head from the cool tile. "I really did get here because I thought of Wolfram?"

Amelia nodded, still smiling. "There are other ways to travel, but picturing loved ones is one of the least complicated ways to teleport. I should have known you'd pick up on it better than merging the waters in each place." She pushed herself away from the bath's edge and winked at Yuri. "I'll be back in the courtyard when you decide to join us." She ducked under the water and was gone.

Yuri and Wolfram stood in the steaming water for awhile, the silence weighing down on them awkwardly. Wolfram cleared his throat not too far from Yuri. "You... should probably get going."

"Yeah..."

Wolfram reached out and put a hand on Yuri's shoulder. "Good luck."

Yuri smiled back at Wolfram. "I guess I'll need it." He closed his eyes again and tried to picture Greta. Curly auburn hair. Big brown eyes. Bright and childish smile. The water swirled gently around Yuri as he worked on his focus. Greta would be happy to see him; she'd throw up her arms to give him a hug. His loving and warm daughter. Yuri didn't bury himself in the water but instead felt it rise around him and sink him into a cool embrace.

And then he felt a breeze roll over his wet skin, seeping through his clothing. Yuri shivered and opened his eyes to see Greta beaming up at him. Her hands reached up, and she excitedly grabbed him around the middle.

"You did it, Yuri!" She said, bubbly.

"I did," Yuri said back, wrapping an arm around her. He looked up across the courtyard and gave Amelia a thumbs up. Amelia lightly clapped from afar and nodded. Yuri let go of Greta and watched the blue-haired woman. "Hey, Amelia," he yelled at her, "say my name!"

Amelia's mouth twisted with confusion, but she shrugged and yelled back, "Your Majesty!"

"No! Just my name. Yuri. No titles."

Amelia seemed hesitant until she smiled and called out "Yuri!"

Yuri wrapped her voice around his mind. The sound of her voice calling out his name, the way it had said 'I don't deserve this, but I'd like to be your friend'. If she stuck around long enough, Amelia would soon learn that he didn't care about status. Yuri pictured the time he had first met her, a beautiful young woman that wanted to help an old friend and her king. How Wolfram had seemed embarrassed to ask for her help, but too proud to admit it. A friend. Despite her past with Wolfram, Yuri could still be friends with her. He had made friends out of enemies... this would be no problem at all. He could even try to persuade stories of a Wolfram before Yuri from her. He heard her call his name again in his head, and Yuri gazed at Amelia a bit longer. A gentle pull, a rush of water, and he was standing next to her.

Amelia jumped back, clearly surprised to find the king suddenly by her side. "Your Majesty."

"Ah, ah." Yuri shook a finger at her. "Learn to call me Yuri, please."

"Yuri..." Amelia's face brightened. "Good to see you're figuring this all out."

Yuri nodded vigorously. "Thinking about the person works so much better. I came to you because I saw us as friends. Besides just picturing the physical person, I can put feelings and memories to it." He was gesturing widely with his hands. "I think I can go just about anywhere as long as the person I'm thinking of is near water."

"That's the gist of it, Your - Yuri." She felt weird not using his title, but it was what he wanted. Who was she to argue with the king?

"Greta!" Yuri waved at his daughter back on the other side of the courtyard who waved back with her whole arm. In one moment he was standing near Amelia, and the next, he was back through the water and energetically hugging and twirling with Greta.

Greta giggled as her father shared his achievement. "Wolfram will be so pleased, Yuri!"

"Oh, right!" Yuri grabbed Greta's hand and stepped quickly back into the bucket of water, helping Greta to get in with him. "Let's go tell him." Wolfram was a young man sprawled out on the bed, kicking Yuri off. He was a father reading Greta a bedtime story as she jumped in his lap instead of laying on the bed like he told her. A soldier prince rushing to catch Yuri before he fell. A partner. A friend. New feelings. Excitement. Love.

The water came quicker and stronger than it had when Yuri moved to Amelia or Greta, and he gripped Greta's hand harder. He heard her give a delighted squeal, and they both were rocketed through dark water until they surfaced in the private baths, laughing. "We made it, Greta! I can do this."

Wolfram had hardly the time to react before Yuri practically mauled him in an exuberant hug. "Wolf! I did it!" He waved and gestured behind him at Greta treading water. "I got both of us here. And it's not like a didn't think I couldn't take her with me. I just knew I cou-." He stopped short and turned as bright red as Wolfram's face had suddenly become. It was at that moment, Yuri realized that indeed Wolfram had not been wearing a towel.

-o-o-

Dinner that night was much too long. The entire table watched Yuri and Wolfram exchange strange and embarrassed glances after nearly every bite they took. Cheri knew better than to think there had been real progress in her son's and the king's relationship that would cause the bashful looks they shared, but Gunter and Gwendal had assumed the worst, Gunter outwardly showing his fretting much more so than the creased brows of Gwendal. Gunter finally relented his worried gnawing on his napkin and fled from the dining room. Conrad just knowingly smiled with his mother. Even the maids were whispering to one another, setting up bets of what could possibly have happened. Greta was too caught up in the earlier bliss of Yuri successfully teleporting that she finished off her food and excused herself to plan her packing early for the trip to Earth.

When Gwendal cleared his throat and excused himself as well, Conrad stood and asked Cheri to join him in a walk around the gardens. Which left Yuri and Wolfram sitting at the table in awkward silence as the maids hurried to clear the abandoned plates. To the ladies' disappointment, Yuri and Wolfram didn't talk at all with the rest of the diners gone. Not even the guards got a bit to relay to the maids as the king and prince went their ways to their separate bedrooms.

The castle was in a hushed uproar for the rest of the night, maids and guards (and Gunter) vying for any bit of information from anyone relating to that day's events. Yuri had been training his maryoku with Amelia, and he hadn't even seen Wolfram, had he? The rumors that started to spread like wildfire that night where nearly as ridiculous as the night Yuri and Wolfram had snuck out of the city.

-o-o-

Yuri woke to the sound of someone knocking on his door. He sat up, yawning, and tried to wipe the sleep out of his eyes. "Come in?" Yuri questioned whoever was waiting behind the door. He expected a guard to march in and let him know breakfast was ready, but he had no idea of the time. It wasn't that late in the morning, was it? Instead, he blinked at Greta sheepishly peeking her head into the open door. "Greta. Come, come," he motioned for her to join him in the bed.

Greta joined him, the usual bounce in her step seemingly missing.

"What's up?" Yuri asked as she sat down on the edge of the bed beside him. "Something wrong?"

"Are you and Wolfram getting an annulment?" Greta turned to Yuri with large and seeking eyes.

"What?!" Yuri threw off the covers and situated himself closer to Greta. "Where'd you get that idea?"

Greta's brows drew together as the pout in lips began to soften. "So you're not?"

Yuri scratched at the tip of his nose with a lightly nervous laugh. "Not that I know of. Wolfram didn't... say he wanted to break it off again, did he?"

Greta shook her head. "Everyone says you two went to your own bedrooms last night, and that something weird was going on between the two of you. I can't believe I didn't even notice it last night, Yuri. I was so excited about the trip to Earth. Don't leave Wolfram, please? I really do want Wolfram to be my Papa for real, too."

Yuri reached over and patted the top of her head. "Don't worry about it. Nothing happened yesterday that will negatively affect our relationship. I promised myself, my mother, and Wolfram that I would try to work this out. And... things sort of happen." His face became suddenly hot. "Things that you do because you feel a certain way about someone."

"Did you two try to make a baby?!"

Yuri felt steam rising from his ears. "No!" His hands flailed about. "Not at all! We - we-" He nearly fainted when a blushing Wolfram stepped into his bedroom.

"Yuri just figured out some truth behind the way I feel. That's all." Wolfram stayed by the door, leaning against it with his hands behind his back.

Greta jumped up from the bed and rushed over to Wolfram. "So there's really nothing wrong? You two aren't going to break up?"

Wolfram lightly shook his. "No. We'll make sure you know any dramatic changes before the rest of the castle finds out, so don't believe what you hear except what what we tell you. 'Kay?"

Greta nodded and looked over at Yuri impishly. She said to Wolfram, "How did Yuri react to the truth?"

Wolfram's blush returned. "He fled."

"Well, that wasn't very nice," Greta said, shaking a finger at Yuri whom couldn't hear their slightly whispered conversation.

"I suppose not, but give Yuri the benefit of the doubt." Wolfram smiled at Yuri. "I don't think he knew how else to react."

"So he just ran away?"

"Screaming."

Greta giggled. "Like he did in the bath yesterday?"

Wolfram gave a her knowing smile. "Exactly like that."

Satisfied with knowing that her papas hadn't been on the verge of parting, Greta excused herself. She bet Wolfram was there to talk to Yuri about being a meany-head and running off yesterday. Greta skipped down the hall to ask what breakfast was going to be.

Back in Yuri's bedroom, neither Yuri nor Wolfram spoke for awhile, Wolfram hanging back by the door still as Yuri sat at the edge of his bed looking down at his bare feet. The silence was broken when Wolfram watched a bird fly by the window and his eyes landed on his fiance.

And Yuri was the first to speak. While still looking at his feet, he simply said, "I'm sorry."

Wolfram stepped forward, closing some of the distance between them, but leaned against a bedpost at the foot of the bed. "I apologize for subjecting you to that, Yuri. You just jumped on me, and the sudden friction... I just couldn't -"

Yuri shook his head. "I know. I know. It's not like you could help it." His face flushed lightly. Considering all the red faces he had had yesterday and this morning, he was surprised he hadn't gotten a headache or dizzy from the blood rush. "But, uh... afterwards. Were you... okay?" Before Wolfram could reply, Yuri threw up his hands. "I don't need to know! That's none of my business. Wolf, I'm sorry. As a... a... uh... significant other? I should... be taking care of, well, stuff like that."

Wolfram fiddled with the bottom of his jacket, surprisingly sheepish suddenly. "I'll take care of that myself until you can."

"And - and it's not like I'm thinking about it," Yuri blurted out. "I just - As a man, I know that it's not very... comfortable to just... you know, ignore it."

Wolfram sighed. "I know."

-o-o-

End of chapter 19.

Thank god I finally was able to finish this chapter. I just feel so terrible for neglecting it so much. But it's done! Date's just around the corner, so stay tuned. I bet I'll update this next chapter a bit sooner since it's not "filler" like the last few chapters have been, and it's all planned out for the most part.