Title: Weak Days: Yuuri vs The Giants
Author: Morien Alexander
Rating: PG
Pairing: Yuuri/Cherrie (Yuuri/everyone, ultimately Yuuri/Wolfram)
Genre: Romance, very mild humor
Chapter: Chapter 2: Yuuri vs the Giants
Comments: Shortish chapter, I think a little more of the Secret Plot is revealed here... dun dun dun! I love Cherrie. She needs more love. And the title... Yuuri vs The Giants refers to her gigantic breastacles.
Chapter 2: Yuuri vs The Giants
When Cherrie finally dragged him out from hiding under his bed, Yuuri was brilliantly red. He usually didn't go to such extremes to avoid an uncomfortable position, but dating Cherrie promised to be far beyond uncomfortable. In fact, it seemed to lead into the realm of "undeniable anguish." And now not only was he embarrassed to be with her, he was also completely humiliated to be pulled out from under his own bed by the "Sexy Queen."
"Come out, cute Yuu-chan!" chirruped Cherrie, jerking his legs so that his whole body slid forward. He let out a muffled howl of dismay, but resigned himself to the fact that she had him.
"Yuuuuuuri-chaaaan..." she said rather sulkily as he came out (dusty). "Why won't you come play with meeeeee..."
"Ah... Cherrie-sama..." Yuuri hadn't thought that when she caught him, he'd actually have to explain why he was hiding under the bed. He scrambled for a response. "I was... ah... my... my contacts! They were... under the bed..." He finished weakly as she grabbed him and stuffed his head between her breasts (as usual).
"You just don't LIKE me!" she squealed, and he couldn't tell whether it was a squeal of delight or anger. But he did feel his nose knocking against her breastbone. And for once, he wished that Wolfram would come save him. "I'm just like my son, you know!" she purred, pushing him away and looking at him brightly. "Wolfie and I look just alike!"
"Not... quite..." Yuuri said, his face a brilliant pink.
"Of course I am more mature than he is..." She stood up suddenly, allowing a generous glimpse of her leg. "Oooooo I have a great idea!"
Yuuri remained on the floor until he felt his arm being ripped nearly out of its socket. So he stood up. And remained as far away from the Sexy Queen's Sexy ... uh... shoulders... as he could.
"I'm going to show you baby pictures of my boys!"
It seemed to him like a very strange idea of a date, but it didn't involve anything nasty, or a huge party, or lots of jewels, so he agreed readily. He wondered how on earth Cherrie had gotten photos of her children in Shin Makoku, too. Maybe Anissina had made some sort of camera device, or there was a type of magic that allowed pictures to be taken. But then again, he hadn't seen any around the castle. So he tagged along, rolling his eyes at anyone who he saw (Conrad, a maid, two pages, some soldier guy, Wolfram). It was really more like an embarrassing big sister pushing him around rather than a date.
By the time they got to the room where she wanted him to go, Yuuri was as red as his own cloak and slightly out of breath. Cherrie was as bright as ever, and bounced a little to emphasize it. It only emphasized her chest, however, which made Yuuri's face an even darker shade of red. "We're here!" she cried happily.
"Here" appeared to be a sort of libraryesque room. There were tall spineless books stacked on end, loose papers piled precariously, and thick volumes with black labels in every corner. Yuuri was a little worried to see some of the larger books tilting dangerously off the tops of shelves. But upon a second look, he found himself overcome by curiosity when he read the spines of some of the thicker books. "Travels with Blonde Men" read one. "Conrad, Diapers, and Anissina in pants" was the title of another. A third caught his interest instantly- "Wolfie in My Dresses."
"What is this place?" Yuuri asked, obviously not having been in that room before.
"It's my picture room, silly," scolded Cherrie, lifting one of the spineless books from its resting place. "I keep all the pictures of my boys here. And some of the men that I've loved..." She smiled fondly at a shelf to the left which held nothing but stacks of paper. "Here, look at this." She sat down cross-legged on the floor and opened the book.
On the thick paper before him was a sketch of a six year old boy. He had something in his mouth and a stuffed rabbit clutched in one hand. He was sitting on what appeared to be a large pillow, and looking drowsily at the artist. It was beautifully rendered, and Yuuri could tell instantly that it was Gwendal. "That's-"
"Gwen," Cherrie glowed with pride. "Wasn't he a darling? It's too bad he's so serious now. The frowns ruin his beautiful face." She flipped the page to show another picture of the dark haired boy, this time hugging a disgruntled looking goose. "He's so fond of cute things, and yet he doesn't try to be cute any more..."
"Who drew these?" Yuuri kneeled on the floor next to her.
"I did," she said offhandedly, turning the page to display a sketch of Gwendal fighting over something with Gunter. "They're just quick little things..."
"They're beautiful," Yuuri said frankly, reverently touching the edge of a page. "You're... you're really good!"
"Of course I'm good!" Cherrie crowed, cuddling closer to her king. "Now look at this book while I find the one that I most wanted to show you." She passed the book into his lap and stood up, moving around the room in her search.
The air was heavy and quiet save for bubbles of laughter coming from Cherrie, and amused murmurs from Yuuri. Someone had opened the windows to let a soft breeze and a great deal of sunlight in. Yuuri found a spot just under a pile of enormous tomes that was lit like a mini amphitheater. He soon blotted out any sounds Cherrie made, as he found himself involved in the animated sketches of the adult palace residents. All of them appeared to be about six to eight years old. Some of them were forced poses, and others simply a passing sketch that must have been done after the event.
He found a particularly impressive picture of Gunter and Conrad curled up together under a blanket. Conrad's little child-hand was closed around Gunter's and the purple haired boy was snoring with his mouth open wide.
A few pages later, there was a magnificent sketch of Conrad on a pony, followed by a quick, sloppy representation of exactly how he fell off. Yuuri giggled.
There were pictures of Anissina experimenting in the kitchen, blowing up the kitchen, and making a mess in the kitchen. She had been tied to one of the table legs, as she was deemed far too destructive for the rest of the palace.
Unfortunately, Gwendal wandered into her lair, and a sketch was made of "before" and one of "after" proving that he did not naturally have bunny ears. He seemed to like them, though, in the following sketches. And then they turned on him with a row of "magical detection teeth" that had mysteriously become embedded in their furry lobes.
The next picture was of Gwendal curled up in a hospital bed with his favorite bunny thrown far across the room.
"Ah! Here we go." Cherrie pulled two volumes off the shelves, grinning widely. She dropped them on the floor, sending up a cloud of golden dust particles that swirled in the light. "Wolfram!"
Yuuri looked down to see the two volumes, one of which was missing a label, the second, labeled "Wolfie in my Dresses." He lifted the unlabeled one first and spread it out across his crossed legs.
The first picture was beyond words.
The most angelic face peered up from the pages. Golden curls surrounded the angel's head, and wide green eyes displayed nothing but innocence. Even his little cherubic lips seemed something out of a baby's first words book rather than a sketch of an actual human being. Yuuri was surprised to find that his breath was taken away.
"He's my favorite to draw," Cherrie said, her voice no longer proud or playful, but quite serious. "He has the face of the Original King... and is quite patient when I ask him to sit for me. Even as a child, he positively glowed."
"He's... beautiful..."
Yuuri turned the page.
This one was a picture of little Wolfram (age four) pretending to spar with Gwendal.
Wolf snuggling a dog (Ma-kun?).
Wolf asleep under a tree in spring, blossoms falling around him.
Wolf peeping out of a hedge.
Wolf fighting with Gunter over a bath.
Wolf running from Anissina.
Yuuri slowly went through the pages, finding himself blushing at the utter beauty of the child. He wasn't supposed to feel attracted to a guy, much less a little boy. But the sketches of Wolfram as a young boy were so beautiful, so innocent... it was a side of Wolf that he had never seen before. He was earnest- the same as now- but with an adventurous side to him. Beautiful... Yuuri blushed more. "I feel like a... pedophile or something..." he said to Cherrie, feeling a little ashamed.
Remarkably, she said nothing, but smiled instead and pushed the second book towards him.
He opened it to yet another breathtaking scene. A sketch of Wolfram in a wedding dress. Or at least, it seemed to be a wedding dress. It was kind of... black. And from behind the dark lace veil, Wolf shone like the sun.
"This is actually all pretty new," Cherrie said quietly. "My aunt really loves to make dresses, and asked Wolfram to be her model. In return, she gave him a trousseau for your wedding."
Yuuri paused on a page that showed Wolfram in a rather revealing nightdress. "We might not be getting married," he said slowly.
"Mmmmm," was the reply, breathed warm against his neck.
He squeeped and moved away to continue looking at the dress book.
Wolfram wore a wide range of beautifully made dresses ranging from the thickly embroidered to the nearly see-through. One was made to look almost like sea foam was dripping off his shoulders as he walked through heavy sand. Another emulated a stroll through the forest by patterning yellow down on green velvet. Yuuri's favorite was a dress that looked like a winter morn- white silk, lace, and glittering sharp angles that protruded like wings off the back of his body.
Throughout the whole book, Wolfram was smiling faintly, as though he was withholding a secret. He looked almost like that boy in the other book- the one who had innocence and love in his very eyes.
Yuuri felt a strange tug at his heart as he closed the book and gazed at the cover.
"You liked it?" Cherrie asked eagerly. "You liked my pretty Wolfie?"
"It was... amazing."
Suddenly, outside, a bell rang loudly. Cherrie jumped up, brushing the dust off of her dress and looking around. "I'm sorry to have to leave you here, Heika... but I have a very important meeting that I need to attend to." She smiled at him fondly. "You can stay here if you like. There are pictures all over. Living as long as Mazoku do has a great return when you want to practice a skill."
And without another word, she left.
Yuuri blinked. "Important meeting without me?"
Suddenly, Cherrie stuck her head back in the door. "My son Conrad is your date tomorrow," she chirruped, and slammed it shut before Yuuri could say anything more.
Outside the door, Cherrie allowed herself an evil snigger. The Great Plan for the Maou was now in place. And then, she laughed louder and pranced off down the hall to the meeting of the conspirators.
To be continued...
