"Wolfram!" Yuuri sat up quickly, almost losing his balance and falling onto his fiancé.
Wolfram smiled, reaching up to touch Yuuri's face. "I thought you were going to sleep forever."
Yuuri shook his head, shifting onto his knees so he could examine his lover's injuries. He didn't quite touch the skin mottled with bruises or the bandages that covered more serious wounds. "How are you?"
"Awake. Alive." Wolfram's voice betrayed how impossible that second fact seemed to be. "Tired of waiting for you to wake up."
"I'm so glad you're back." Yuuri was comforted by the irritated comment. He leaned down cautiously and kissed Wolfram softly on a less-bruised spot on his cheek. "Do you need anything?"
Wolfram snorted. "Don't you start! Gisela and Gunter have been in here every five minutes asking the same thing. You slept right through it."
"Sorry." Yuuri stifled a yawn, looked around and reluctantly dragged himself out of bed. "I should let you rest."
"You should get yourself right back here before you fall on your face. You used too much of your power yesterday."
"It was worth it," Yuuri assured him, returning to his place at Wolfram's side. He settled into the blankets with a happy sigh. "You're back. Everything will be okay now."
"Wonderful," Wolfram said sarcastically. "As long as I don't need to go anywhere."
"What?" Yuuri sat up, eyes taking in every bit of his fiancé's body.
"Both legs are broken. Gisela said the bones were shattered. She doesn't know if I'll walk again."
"But…" Yuuri started to protest, then stopped abruptly, a look of determination on his face. He sat cross-legged and held his hands over Wolfram's legs, eyes closed in concentration as he started the healing spell.
"Yuuri!" Wolfram objected. "You don't have enough energy for this."
"It's okay," Yuuri smiled. "I'll just use a little at a time until you're completely healed."
"It doesn't work that way," Wolfram argued. "Besides, I want to sleep. Gisela and Gunter kept me awake with all of their questions."
"Then sleep," Yuuri said quietly. "I'll be here."
"You'd better be," Wolfram warned before closing his eyes and falling almost instantly asleep.
Yuuri smiled at the familiar sight of his fiancé sleeping peacefully. He felt a bit sappy, but he'd been so afraid… Shaking his head, Yuuri returned his mind to the healing spell. After only a few minutes, he reluctantly stopped. He really had used up most of his energy reserves the previous day. He barely had the strength to climb out of bed. Maybe some breakfast would help.
"Heika." Conrad greeted Yuuri enthusiastically, not quite able to hide his look of concern. "Come sit while I get you something to eat."
Gisela was already there with a bowl of soup and mug of tea. She added a thick slice of bread and some fruit. "Eat as much as you can," she urged. "You'll feel better."
Yuuri nodded and opened his mouth to thank her.
"Eat now, talk later," she chided. She turned and left the room before Yuuri could object.
Conrad hid his amusement behind a sip of hot tea.
Yuuri shrugged and took a bite of soup, suddenly ravenous. He had finished everything, including a second slice of bread, when Gisela returned. She cleared the dishes away, then returned with a pot of tea, refilling everyone's mug before taking a seat.
"Now will you tell me what's going on?" Yuuri looked at the two adults across from him and prompted, "Wolfram's legs?"
"There are limits to healing spells," Gisela reminded him. "Wolfram's legs were broken in several places, and the breaks were not clean. With time he should regain some of his mobility…" She hesitated but Yuuri waited for her to finish. "There is a very small probability that he will walk again, unaided."
"So… possible but not likely," Yuuri said, more to himself than the others. Gisela nodded anyway.
"What about his other injuries?"
"The wounds on his back were shallow but there was some infection. That's under control and there should be no problems or scarring. His shoulder requires time, but it will heal completely as well, as long as he uses it as little as possible for the next few weeks. The lacerations and contusions are minor. I set his broken ribs. There doesn't seem to be any other… internal trauma."
She gave Yuuri a significant look, but it was Conrad who asked. "He wasn't…"
"Apparently not. But…" She cautioned Yuuri with an almost smile, "I'd wait to… celebrate… your reunion until those ribs and shoulder heal."
Yuuri looked confused for a minute, then blushed when he deciphered her meaning. The fact that he and Wolfram had been lovers for several months didn't make those kinds of comments any less embarrassing.
"Heika," Conrad interrupted Yuuri's thoughts. "Duke Clairmont would like to meet with you this afternoon to discuss the prisoners."
Yuuri nodded agreement. The Duke was ruler of this province and he and Yuuri had exchanged communiqués but had not met.
"The Duke would like to take responsibility for the criminals. He has had other complaints about the weapons merchant and some of his men. He will see that they receive proper punishment."
Yuuri nodded, suddenly unable to meet Conrad's eyes. He remembered all too clearly how close he had come to killing the man who had kidnapped and tortured Wolfram. It had gone beyond the desire for justice. He had known that and still not wanted to stop. But now…
"If you don't mind, I'm going to rest a little. Just wake me up early so that I can get cleaned up before we meet the Duke." Yuuri left the table quickly, not wanting to give Conrad or Gisela time to ask any questions.
He slipped into the bedroom and closed the door
quietly, thankful that Wolfram was asleep. Yuuri
needed time to think, to understand what had happened
and to find a way to make sure he never lost control
like that again.
xxxxx
"How is he?"
Yuuri offered Conrad a tired smile and turned to look out at the ocean. The meeting with Duke Clairmont had gone well. So well that the man had insisted they use his personal ship to travel home. Wolfram hadn't been happy, but in his condition it was the fastest way to transport him home.
"Gisela is with him. She gave him something to calm his stomach and help him sleep." Yuuri grimaced. "How many days will it take to get home?"
"Three if the weather is with us."
Yuuri leaned against the rail and rested his head on his arms. "Do you think he'll walk again?" He spoke so quietly Conrad barely heard the question.
"Wolfram has never lacked determination."
Yuuri laughed at that. "You're right." He met Conrad's gaze. "I probably shouldn't worry so much. He'll have all the help he needs to get better. He'll be calling me 'wimp' again in no time."
"He doesn't do that as often as he used to," Conrad observed.
"I guess. It's more like a term of affection. Somehow I can't see Wolfram calling anyone 'honey' or 'baby'." Yuuri made a face. "I'd rather be called a wimp."
"I'll remember that," Conrad promised, laughing at Yuuri's expression. "Let's walk a little before you go back to your cabin."
They made a slow circuit of the deck in companionable silence. It was mid-afternoon and the sky was bright blue with few clouds.
"You owe me a baseball game when we get back." Yuuri grinned at Conrad. "We missed our game last week."
"We did," Conrad agreed. "We'll have to make it up" He reached out and placed a hand on Yuuri's shoulder. "Yuuri, you have nothing to feel guilty about. You were in an extreme circumstance. You did not lose control."
"I could have," Yuuri replied, eyes haunted. "It would have been so easy to pile on a few more boards, to add a little more pressure. I would have crushed him to death and been happy about it."
"No!" Conrad protested. "You stopped. You did not harm that man, Yuuri. He suffered nothing worse than cuts and bruises – certainly nothing like the harm he inflicted on Wolfram. You have far more control and more mercy than I. I would have cut him in half."
Yuuri blinked at the sudden flash of – hatred – in Conrad's eyes. There was a terrifying coldness to the man when he got like this. Yuuri had only seen it once before, but it had frightened him beyond words.
Silence hung between them, stiff and uncomfortable, until Conrad blinked and became himself again. Yuuri let out the breath he was holding.
"Shall we go relieve Gisela?" Conrad asked calmly. "She might appreciate some fresh air."
Yuuri nodded, relaxing again, but still very aware of
the moment that had just passed. He desperately hoped
he never saw that look on Conrad's face again.
xxxxx
They were home. Back in Blood Pledge Castle. Back in their own room. Yuuri dropped onto the bed beside Wolfram and stretched out his arms.
"Don't you have to be somewhere? Günter must have papers for you to sign or something." Wolfram shifted uncomfortably and turned away from Yuuri as well as he could with the casts on his legs.
"Nope. He's in a meeting with Gwendal and Conrad's in town, so I get to spend some time with you."
"Yay," Wolfram muttered, unenthused.
"Hey, I thought we could get that cart Conrad brought and go somewhere. Gwendal made a blanket for it and everything. You don't have to worry about getting bounced around too much."
Wolfram hated the very idea of the cart – a modified wooden produce vendor's wagon with big wheels that could be pulled along by person or horse. Padding had been added and the back built up for comfort, but the mere fact that he needed it to get around made Wolfram detest it.
"You go. I'll be here when you get back."
Yuuri started to argue, then stopped. They'd replayed this conversation many times since returning home. It was time to try something else.
"I'll go get us a snack," Yuuri offered. Wolfram made a sound and turned away.
"Don't hurry back," he said, but it was mostly muffled by his pillow.
"I'll bring something good," Yuuri promised, leaning down to kiss Wolfram's ear. The blond liked that. "You're not getting rid of me that easily."
Wolfram closed his eyes and listened to Yuuri walk
away.
xxxxx
He waited until they had an audience of his brothers, Günter and a variety of servants before formally terminating their engagement. Wolfram watched without expression as understanding dawned on Yuuri's face. He knew his fiancé well enough to almost read his thoughts. He saw Yuuri's hand raise a little, as if to repeat his marriage proposal, but then Yuuri hesitated, clearly unwilling to strike Wolfram.
Just as Wolfram planned.
Painfully, Wolfram turned his wheeled chair around and
moved slowly out of the room.
xxxxx
For the first time since becoming Maou, Yuuri didn't care what happened to the country or the people around him. There was only one person who mattered and Wolfram refused to talk to him.
"Heika!" Günter scolded loudly. "We're leaving in an hour. You need to get ready."
"No."
Günter stopped, mouth agape and stared. "Heika."
"Gwendal can handle it. Or Conrad. You don't need me there."
"But Heika?" Günter's eyebrows were almost to his hairline. "One of our border towns has been attacked. We need to stop the attackers and bring aid to the citizens. You always…"
"Not this time." Yuuri stood up and walked out, ignoring Günter's wails of protest. Yuuri kept walking, past Wolfram's room with its' pair of guards stationed outside. Wolfram's personal guards who refused to allow Yuuri inside.
Defeated, Yuuri climbed up to the small room at the top of the north tower. This was his and Wolfram's favorite hiding place on rainy days. They'd smuggle a picnic and blankets up here and play cards, read or talk – anything to let them escape for a little while.
Some of the old blankets were still there, a bit dusty but not too bad. Yuuri wrapped himself up in one and lay back, looking up through one of the high windows to the cloudy sky.
If he concentrated hard, maybe he could pretend that Wolfram was with him, sharing a peaceful afternoon.