Disclaimer: I don't own Maruma
Author's Notes:This thing turned out to be longer (twice as long as the other chapters, over 8000 words) and more stubborn than expected, I've had a tough time wrestling it into submission - had to do almost a complete rewrite before I was happy with it. And every time I read it, I find something that needs tweaking. Please comment, I wait with baited breath for your feedback and criticisms.
To 001anonymous who asked why Wolfram and Greta went to such lengths to get the three fish, there are two reasons: 1. Wolfram, being a good parent, recognized the chance to spend a lot of time with Greta having fun and learning stuff (make learning fun, I mean) and 2. Wolfram does nothing half-assed :-) - he's such a passionate and obsessive person.
Arrival Gate: 3 - Library
There was the time when Yuuri appeared through a vase in the library while Wolfram and Greta were studying.
Wolfram was frustrated.
He took a book from the shelf and leafed through it. Nothing. He put the book back and took another one. Again, nothing. He took another one. There was a little bit on the subject he was researching so he placed it with the other ones he had picked so far.
Wolfram was frustrated. If frustration could be contained in bushels, then Wolfram would fill a market full of it. He'd flood all the Shin Makoku markets with bushels of frustration, increasing the supply, decreasing the demand and driving the price down.
He took the books and walked to the table where Greta was busy writing. He placed them on the table with a loud thunk. Greta ignored him. She was used to it by now. It was his way of dealing with frustration.
Because clearly, Wolfram was frustrated. If frustration was a beauty pageant, Wolfram would have been crowned queen.
He sat down and read through the pertinent sections of each book. It did not take long. There wasn't much. He wrote all the information down in his neat handwriting in one of his blue notebooks. After he finished, he took the books and placed them on a table nearby with a note, "Please reshelve." He usually returned his borrowed books, but he was frustrated.
No question about it, Wolfram was very frustrated. If frustration was Maryoku, he would be able to easily out-Maou Yuuri. In human territory. On a rocking ship. Surrounded by esoteric stones. Blindfolded with one hand tied behind his back.
He picked up a well-worn book that was sitting on top of Greta's map. The map immediately curled on one corner.
"This has been the most promising so far," he muttered as he flipped through it until he got to the back of the book.
Greta kept ignoring him. She was not frustrated. She was dedicated. This was the big difference between men and women. It was unfortunate that both her parents were men, but thankfully, she had been born a woman. She ignored her father and diligently went about her work.
"I think we have a few of the books referenced here." Wolfram paced up and down the main aisle chewing the bottom of his lip.
As he passed a heretofore benign flower vase sitting on a quiet pedestal at the end of an unassuming bookshelf, there was a loud crash and suddenly Wolfram found himself even more frustrated. And wet in some parts. And on the floor. Kissing the cold tiles. Bits of ceramic in his hair. And one flower. With something very heavy sitting on his back.
The something very heavy sitting on his back shifted and laughed nervously. Then it sputtered, "Uh...hi...Wolfram...um...I'm home."
Wolfram seethed.
Greta seeing one wet father sitting on top of one frustrated father, quickly took action. She grabbed the book from Wolfram's outstretched hand, saw that some water and a couple of flowers got on it, took her handkerchief out and started cleaning it off. Whew! That was close, she thought.
"Hi Yuuri, welcome home," she greeted her newly arrived parent with a big smile and a little wave. "Is it okay if I hug you later when you're drier?"
Yuuri pouted a little and started his speech, about how his daughter was growing up too quickly and how she was going to get married and have three kids and forget her fathers and how he's decided that from now on, she's never allowed to accompany the ex-Maou on any of her trips, when Wolfram finally found his voice amongst his frustrations.
"What the hell are you doing, WIMP!!"
Yuuri was forced out of his comfortable seat and found himself looking into a pair of very angry, very green eyes. They were the color of the jungle in the middle of a typhoon.
The death grip on his collar constricted his breathing and it was with some effort before he could get the words out, "...Wolfram...sorry...I...guess...I...landed...on...you."
"You landed on me?!"
Yuuri breathed a little easier as Wolfram took one of his hands off Yuuri's shirt. Unfortunately for Yuuri, this hand formed a fist on top of his head.
"You landed on me!" Wolfram repeated.
Ow. The fist connected with the top of Yuuri's head.
"There are scores of other water receptacles all over the castle and you land on me?"
Ow. Yozak had one time amusingly called them 'love taps'.
"Do I look like some kind of landing strip to you?"
Ow, Yuuri silently cursed the spy, wishing someday that Yozak would be at the receiving end of Wolfram's violence.
"Do you take some kind of perverse pleasure on doing this to me?"
Ow. See how Miss Biceps would like that.
"Is the Maou's bath so small that you couldn't find it?!"
Ow. Damn Yozak Gurrier. "Okay, okay, Wolfram, I said I'm sorry."
"And this teeny tiny vase in the middle of the goddamn library is much more convenient?"
Ow. "Calm down already."
"..."
Ow.
Greta was amused by her parents' argument. She was ecstatic to see Yuuri back and glad to see that her fathers were getting along particularly well. She knew, from what Anissina had taught her, boys do not know how to handle their emotions properly so they show it in other ways. Violent ways. She saw that Anissina was right; it was plain to see that Yuuri was helping Wolfram deal with his frustration.
It was about the eighth or maybe the tenth 'ow' that Conrart showed up followed immediately by Günter followed not so immediately by three maids who stayed back far enough not to be noticed but near enough to get the information they needed to update the Blood Pledge Castle Romance Polls.
"Your Majesty!"
"Wolfram!"
Conrart pulled Wolfram off Yuuri. Lord Wolfram lost points on the BPCR poll.
Günter swept the relieved Maou into a very elegant embrace. Great advantage for Lord Günter, his elegance always wins him points.
Wolfram wrenched Günter from Yuuri; Günter squeaked a rather inelegant "Gyak!" Oooh, Lord Günter sorry, a couple of points have to be taken off for that squeak.
"Elements of fire. Obey this proud Mazoku..." Wolfram chanted as he glared at Yuuri. Hmmm... that can go either way. On one hand, Lord Wolfram look totally hot surrounded by flames, on the other hand, setting fire to your beloved is probably not the best way to woo him. It'll have to be discussed later.
Conrart immediately placed himself in front of Yuuri looking all kinds of heroic. Jackpot, jackpot! Oh Shinou! Yes! Yes! Yes! The maids melted.
We interrupt this story for a quick look inside the fanmaids' minds: –- not only did Conrart looked like a knight in shining armor with sword drawn ready to give his life, chest or arm for his king, he looked determined, and almost maniacal as if he was ready to strike his own brother down to keep the one very important person alive and well, the dark light of twilight shining behind him, keeping his fearsome face in almost shadows, the wind blowing his brown hair wildly while romantic music reminiscent of Casablanca played in the background.
Now back to the regularly scheduled programming...
"Wolfram! Stop this now!" Conrart commanded.
"Don't worry, Conrart, I'll only hurt him a little," Wolfram replied evilly.
"Wolfram, we're in the library! Please don't use Majutsu here," Günter scolded.
"Calm down Wolf," Yuuri pleaded in what he hoped was a soothing tone. "Calling on the elements while you're in the library is not a good idea. Unless you're trying to destroy the library. You might get away with calling the wind elements or the earth elements... though that would still result in irate readers and, most likely, an even more irate librarian. And in the list of very bad things, irate librarians are somewhere near the top."
"Quit your rambling, Yuuri. And quit hiding behind Conrart! Face me like a man."
"You've got fire Majutsu and even though I am not the wisest person in the world, I would say it's never ever a good idea to use that in a library!"
"Oh don't worry about the books, Günter has probably put barriers up already to keep them safe."
Yuuri glanced at Günter and saw that this was true.
"Aw, come on, Wolf. We could at least take this outside."
After a few moments of everyone holding their breath, Wolfram put away his flames. "Fine, let's make it a duel then."
"What?! We don't even have any knives in here, how can you call for a duel?"
"Don't worry, this is just for fun, no need to be so formal. I won't hurt you... much," Wolfram chortled.
Yuuri didn't know where it came from or what prompted it, maybe it was Wolfram's egomania, but he suddenly had a fiendish idea.
"Well... since this is for fun, let's stake something on it."
"You mean like a wager?"
"Yes, if I win, you do everything I tell you without me issuing a royal order. For a month. You will not question, contradict, disagree or complain. Or become violent. You just do what I say. And it could be anything like passing the salt or running thirty laps around the castle."
"Hmmm... It's not like you'd win anyway. Fine, if I win, you grant me one wish."
"What kind of a wager is that? You can't ask for something unknown. How do I know you won't ask for something crazy like all the treasure in the treasury room or evict all humans from Shin Makoku."
"Why would I ask for something like that, wimp?! And don't worry, my wish is not anything that I'm not already entitled to. It's something you can easily grant."
Wolfram was entitled to a lot of things, but Yuuri was feeling invulnerable. "Well... okay... but since you challenged me, I get to pick the type of combat."
"That won't matter. You can even throw in any of your Earth fighting, I'll still win."
The library doors were thrown open and Lady Celi made a sweeping entrance declaring in a loud voice, "If His Majesty Yuuri wins, we'll have a wedding at Blood Pledge Castle!"
"I accept the terms!" Yuuri proclaimed before he could stop himself.
Gasps were uttered all around the room. Conrart shook his head, his smile wavering briefly. Wolfram smirked, "I accept!"
"Eh? Wait a minute. That...that... what she said, what Lady Celi said didn't just become part of the wager, did it?...Conrad?"
"I'm afraid so Your Majesty. You should have clarified before you accepted."
Yuuri slapped his hand over his forehead. "Why do these things happen to me? Who did I piss off in the past life..."
"Don't worry, Your Majesty..." Conrad said thoughtfully.
"It's Yuuri, Conrad. You named me..." Yuuri said tiredly.
"Yuuri, don't worry about the wedding, Mother did not specify whose wedding it is."
Yuuri perked up.
"He he he. You're right Conrad." Yuuri smiled relieved. "What would I do without you?"
"Yuuri, can I also have a wish from you if Wolfram wins?" Greta piped in wearing her irresistible adorable look.
"Greta, you can have a wish whether he wins or not. As long as it is anything that is in my power to grant, my daughter can have any wish. Besides, Wolfram is going to lose this one."
"Wolfie, this is so exciting! We haven't had a wedding consummate at the castle in decades. This time we'll do it perfectly, perhaps we'll use chains at the altar so there's no chances of pulling out. I'll need to check the treasury room, there's a few baubles there that are just dying to be used."
"Mother, don't bother getting the wedding regalia out. Yuuri will not be winning this duel."
"Spoilsport," Celi pouted.
"Considering that His Majesty has won all his duels, I think the chances are favorable on his side," Günter remarked.
"I must agree with you, Günter. What do you think about castle decorations? My black flowers are in full bloom. They would look so elegant in the ballroom, don't you think?"
"Yes, Her Majesty the Queen's flowers are beautiful," Günter agreed. "Yuuri's Justice and Merciful Yuuri are especially doing well. I'd have to say those are my favorites."
"Really? Wolfram doesn't seem to like them as much. He's developing another strain but it seems the experiment is not going so well."
"Mother!" Wolfram exclaimed trying to keep the annoyance out of his voice. "Come on, wimp, let's go! The faster I beat you up, the better."
"We're doing it right now?!"
"I can't think of a better time. Why? Are you afraid, scaredy cat?"
"I'm not scared! But I'd like to get out of these wet clothes first and give my daughter a proper hug. You seem to forget I just arrived," Yuuri said plaintively.
Wolfram did not look like had forgotten. In fact, it looked like the manner of Yuuri's arrival is still topmost in his mind as he gave Yuuri the scariest, caustic look ever known to grace the face of a shoujo manga style bishonen. A nervously grimacing Yuuri put his hands up in front of him warding off any attack. Wolfram didn't even deign to give him a 'hmph' as he turned for the door and left.
"Well, Conrart my dear, have you met any nice girls lately?" Lady Celi inquired in a seductive voice.
"I've met plenty of nice girls, Mother." Conrart smiled enigmatically.
"And none of them are marriageable? Or do they not want to marry you? But that's not possible, you have the very look of your father, and he's such a sexy man. Women should be falling all over the place to wed you. What about Gisela? She's a pleasant girl, a bit strict sometimes, but you're very close and you've known each other for a while. Or perhaps you should marry Yozak, he would look lovely in a wedding dress."
"You are right Mother, Yozak would look stunning in a wedding dress. But I don't think Gisela has any interest in me in that way."
"Pity. Perhaps Anissina then. But we should probably save her for Gwendal." Somewhere in the castle a very stern man sneezed. "Unless Gwendal wants to marry you, Günter."
"I'm afraid to disappoint you, Your Majesty," Günter answered the former queen, "but I have seen no indication from Gwendal of any intentions to marry anyone. I think he intends to stay a bachelor for as long as he possibly can."
"Sometimes I lose hope for that child. I'm not quite sure if he has his priorities straight. At times, I think he still believes babies are delivered by the Kotsuhizoku. Perhaps I'll take him with me on my next trip. Unless you want to go Conrart, or maybe I should take Wolfram instead. Ah, but His Majesty Yuuri will probably not let him go."
"Lady Celi, this may be a weird question, but why are you so interested in getting your sons to marry?" Yuuri asked, his mother had the same bothersome obsession. "They seem to be all doing fine as I see. Maybe it's because I'm a boy and girls like romance and stuff... but in my opinion, I don't think any of them has an immediate need for a wife."
"Well, someone needs to take care of them and I'm not always here nor will I always be here."
"But they take care of each other. And I take care of them. Probably not as much as they care of me."
"Yes, you are right. But the dedication of a spouse is different after all. And I'm their mother, so naturally I worry. That's what parents do."
Yuuri looked at Greta thoughtfully.
"Don't worry Yuuri, I'm not getting married yet," Greta chimed unhelpfully.
Yuuri smiled at his beautiful daughter. It was good to be home. "Well Greta, I'm going to get dressed and I'll be back to get my welcome hug ok?"
"I'll be here."
"Look, I'm not saying that you don't look good in it. I just prefer the outfit with the black shirt alone without the jacket. The big white bow just seem so... girlish." Yuuri said as he and Wolfram walked through a corridor later that afternoon.
"Are you saying I look like a girl?"
"Of course not! I would never say that," Yuuri exclaimed while thinking, I value my life too much to say anything like that.
"I just wonder why you like having things around your neck—line—area—ish," Yuuri continued, waving a circle around his neck and upper chest. "You're always wearing cravats..."
"They're part of my uniform," Wolfram said simply.
"...but you also wear them with casual clothes along with scarves and bows and brooches. Even if it's just a small bow. I mean even your plain peach nightgown has a little bow. And when you visited Earth, you wore neckties."
"Mother Jennifer said it was part of the suit."
"But you didn't have to wear it with a T-shirt. Ties are supposed to be worn only with dress shirts that have collars, like I told you when we were there. You're not suppose to wear them with plain ordinary T-shirts."
"Yeah, well, what about that guy on the picture on the cover of that floppy book? And all those girls that were pointing those, what did you call them, mobile something. You said they were taking my portrait. They all seemed to think it looked good."
"Wolfram, you'd look gorgeous in a plain brown sack, they weren't taking your picture because of the silly little tie. Besides those girls' opinions and opinions in girly magazines don't count."
"How come? You're the cheater who's always trying to impress girls - though there's no need for you to try since you're already cute... I don't even know why I'm wearing this. I should have enough clean uniforms, who gave the maids the idea to bring this instead. I really should change into my uniform, I'm still on duty."
"Wolf, you're always on duty. Even when you're asleep. Just leave it on. I like you in that black shirt, not so much the bow, but let's leave that for now. I'd like to get this duel over with and have my own personal Wolfram slave."
"Why Yuuri, I didn't know you were so perverted," Wolfram sniggered.
"Not funny. I'm just thinking of bringing you to Earth and making you do all my house chores."
Both Yuuri and Wolfram stopped in their tracks and stood dumbfounded in surprise when they arrived at the end of the corridor and stared out into the courtyard.
All in all, it was not as large or crazy as the "Whack the Sandbear" event at Yuuri's sixteenth birthday. There was a rectangular field the size of a basketball court marked by green velvet rope and punctuated by large, green, glassy balls. Green banners were hung over poles overlooking the arena. On one long side is an opening where they were currently standing and on the other side is what Yuuri like to think as the boxseat. There sat Lady Celi in an ornate chair with a tall back surrounded by Greta, Conrart, and Anissina. Gwendal was sitting on a bicycle looking contraption and was currently pedaling. Scores of spectators sat on benches or stood outside the green velvet rope. In the middle of the field was a simple wooden table and two stools.
"Wow. I think Günter outdid himself," Wolfram commented, quietly astonished.
"Where did he get all this...stuff. And where did he get all those people from?"
"I think Mother came home with all those decorative items. She said that merchant from Dai Shimeron Stefan Fanbalen, the one she calls Fanfan, had an overstock of castle decorations because they didn't sell well in Sverela... It looks like all the castle residents are here, I don't know where the rest came from, probably town."
"He did all this in less than two hours?!"
"Your Majesty," Günter gushed as he approached them, "I am so grateful for being given the chance to organize this little celebration for your homecoming. I know it's not much, but considering the time limit..."
"No, Günter, I think you've more than exceeded my expectations," Yuuri said still awed with all the pageantry.
"You are too kind Your Majesty. And so wise for coming up with the idea of boosting the people's morale through games and sports. Not to mention that I'll have a whole wedding to prepare after Your Majesty's victory. I can imagine His Majesty looking so divine in his wedding clothes." Günter sparkled, then remembered something and gave Wolfram a scornful look before leading them to the table in the middle of the dueling area.
"Günter, you don't need to be planning my wedding so soon," Yuuri grumbled but the tall man paid him no heed.
"Yuuri, what's this about games and sports. I thought we're just having a friendly duel."
"Well, actually, I thought we'd do best two out of three. Here."
Wolfram read the piece of paper that Yuuri handed him and snorted, "I see that you tried to have as much advantage as possible."
"Hey, the third event is sword fighting, you can't argue that I have the advantage there," Yuuri countered. Granted he included it for the sole purpose of mollifying the blond. Yuuri was going to win the first two so the third didn't really matter.
"No matter," Wolfram replied, "I'll still win this."
"Your overconfidence is going to get you in trouble someday."
"Your wimpiness gets you in trouble everyday."
"I think that will be the first thing I command you once I win. Call me wimp as many times now because you won't be able to say it for a whole month."
"I doubt that."
"Yuuri! Wolfram! Do your best!" Greta waved. "Wolfram make sure to win!"
"Your Majesty, good luck!" Celi cheered. "Wolfram be sure to lose so I can see you wearing black every day. That blue uniform is getting a bit boring."
"Why Greta?... Do you prefer Wolfram to..."
"Mother! I am not going to throw this duel! And I'm not going to stop wearing my uniform because I'm not going to..."
"...me? Am I not a good father? Perhaps I spend too much time away from my daughter, but still... why?!"
"...stop being a soldier even after Yuuri and I are married! And stop telling the maids to bring me casual clothing when I'm on duty! Honestly!"
Günter tapped on Anissina's Hear-Me-Roar-kun, a machine that looked and acted like a cross between a microphone, a megaphone and an aardvark, and started announcing the events.
The first event was a game of Go, a game Wolfram never played and was unfamiliar with. Yuuri was a mediocre player, but he was confident that he can beat a novice. And if he played his cards right, Wolfram would insist on not having a practice game. Yuuri was not a great manipulator, or even a decent one. He left all that to his advisors. But one thing Yuuri understood was Wolfram's pride.
After explaining the object of the game, the moves, the rules and the most basic strategies, Yuuri said, "I think Go is too complicated for you so I'll explain more slowly while we do a practice match, ok"
"I'm not idiot that can't grasp this simple game. There's no need to practice."
"Ok, but if you have any questions about the rules, just ask."
It was fortunate for Yuuri that Wolfram had taken his bait and opted out of the practice match because he struggled with much effort to win that one game. Yuuri wasn't sure if he could have won a second one. Wolfram might be impulsive most of the time, but he was terrifyingly focused when he wanted something badly. Yuuri wondered briefly what the ex-prince's wish was. He hoped it wasn't that.
No matter. One down, one more to go. And the next one was going to be terribly easy.
They were at the batter's box holding wooden bats, wearing baseball helmets but foregoing baseball uniforms. The crowd that followed them from the castle's courtyard was still cheering loudly. Conrart was at the mound and Dakaskos was at home plate wearing a catcher's gear.
"So explain again, it's hard to hear over them," Wolfram said, a hand waving towards the bleachers.
"All you have to do is hit the ball as far as you can. We measure up to first bounce so try to hit homeruns and not grounders. You get three strikes and we're not counting foul balls as strikes. There's no limit on foul balls and of course no limit on balls."
"Yuuri, speak Mazoku." Wolfram never liked baseball and never tried to learn much about the game.
"Ok, you can only miss the ball three times. You need to hit the ball towards there," Yuuri explained as he swept his hand from first base to third. "And if you hit that way, it doesn't count."
"I understand."
"Now regarding the strike zone."
"I don't need to know that."
"What?! Of course you need to know that."
"Look all I need to do is to hit the ball further than you, right? And I just need to make sure that I need to hit it that way. And I get three tries."
"Well, that sort of summarizes it, but you need to know about balls and strikes and the strike zone."
"No I don't. I just need to hit the ball. That's simple. I don't know why you like to complicate things."
"I don't like to complicate things. You just don't like to listen... Fine, if you feel that way... We'll flip a coin to see who goes first. Call heads or tails."
"Flip a what?"
"Just pick one, heads or tails!!"
"Tails."
Yuuri flipped a coin.
"It's heads. That means I go first. Which is probably a good idea, at least you'll see the correct stance and I don't have to explain."
The first two pitches were foul balls, then a strike but the fourth pitch was a fastball and Yuuri took full advantage of it. He hit a homerun right straight in the middle hitting the Shin Makoku crest on the scoreboard. The crowd stood up and cheered loudly.
Oh yes, that was sweet! Yuuri was getting really good at that. That's the fourth one he's ever hit on that board. The first was on his sixteenth birthday, two were during practice and the most wonderful and extraordinary one is this. Of course, they were all from Conrart's fastballs. But what does it matter. He won. And he gets a quiet, pliant Wolfram for a whole month.
"Don't start celebrating yet, wimp!"
Yuuri kept his triumphant smile and said nothing. There was no way in heaven or hell that Wolfram with his big white bow of doom could beat that.
Wolfram walked to home plate and watched Conrart and Dakaskos toss the ball back and forth until Conrart asked if he was ready. He stepped up to the plate and copied Yuuri's stance as best he could.
Yuuri was grinning from ear to ear. This had been the sweetest homecoming yet... he watched the pitch and heard the crack and suddenly his sweet homecoming turned bitter. The ball seemed to hang in the air for a few eternities as the crowd watch it go straight in the middle past the scoreboard and out the stadium. Then everyone went wild and Yuuri stood there with his mouth open, completely astonished.
That was one beautiful hit! Yuuri admitted to himself. And he remembered for a second how graceful Wolfram looked as he hit the ball. Next thing he knew, his vision was covered by a face full of grinning Wolfram.
"Are you just toying with me?" Yuuri grumbled as he hit Wolfram's sword.
"No, I just want you to feel good about yourself. And also entertain the audience," Wolfram grinned. "It wouldn't do to end it too quickly, there's no satisfaction in that."
They had been sparring hard for over fifteen minutes. They've both lost their jackets a while ago and were both sweating and breathing hard. Every time that Yuuri thought he was about to lose, Wolfram backed off. What was worse was Wolfram deliberately kept giving him openings which Yuuri took only to be blocked at the last possible moment.
Yuuri was getting frustrated. At first, he thought Wolfram was trying to lose on purpose so that the wagered wedding would take place as the proud Mazoku kept giving him opening after opening. Yuuri permitted himself a bit of enjoyment thinking Wolfram was under the mistaken impression that it was their own wedding that was on the line. But after a while, Yuuri realized that Wolfram was only using him as a literal punching bag for as long as he possibly could.
But Yuuri was not about to give up. Wolfram was a straight pitcher; he repeated the same patterns over and over. Yuuri realized that every time Wolfram gave him an opening only to block it, Wolfram took a second to gloat, grinning mischievously at him before pushing off.
Clink. clink. clink. Two minutes later, Yuuri inadvertently left an opening and Wolfram backed off. Click. clink. clink. There was Wolfram's deliberate opening. Yuuri went for it. Block. Then Yuuri struck again before Wolfram could finish his grin and push off.
Wolfram, however, did not cooperate. Yuuri struck at nothing. The next thing he knew his sword was struck at the hilt with what felt like a hard punch making him lose his sword. A shoulder went into his gut and he hit the ground hard on his rear. All the air in his lungs was pushed out with a loud grunt.
Yuuri looked up at his opponent dumbfounded. He felt something strange stir within him as he watched the third son of the ex-Maou in his black shirt, sweaty and breathing hard, flourish his sword gracefully before sheathing it. Wolfram ran his hand through his hair, walked over to Yuuri and, standing triumphantly over him, grinned like mad, "I win."
Yuuri just stared with his mouth open. He closed his eyes willing for that image to go away. He knew with certainty that it was going to haunt him later in those unwanted pink dreams. He lost the duel. And he felt he was still in the process of losing, losing something entirely different.
"Yuuri," Wolfram said and Yuuri opened his eyes. The blond was holding his hand out.
Yuuri took it and let Wolfram help him up. "Don't be a sore loser."
"I'm not. So what's the wish."
"I'll tell you in private. It's not really something that should be discussed in public," Wolfram smiled warmly.
"Greta, you're not sleeping in the middle tonight?" Yuuri asked. Greta usually took the middle but there were times when Yuuri or Wolfram did. Not that it mattered what position they start in. Most likely in the morning, Wolfram would be at the foot of the bed hogging all the blankets, Yuuri would be halfway on the floor and Greta would be in the middle of the bed with her small body sprawled taking up as much territory as it possibly could.
"No," Greta yawned and motioned her hand for him to come. She whispered something in his ear and giggled.
"But he won the duel and I lost, so using your logic, I should be in the middle," Yuuri said sulking. But Greta didn't hear him as she had already fallen asleep.
"She gets that from you," Yuuri said accusingly.
"You make it sound like it's a bad thing," Wolfram replied as he crawled under the covers beside Greta.
"How can falling asleep in the middle of a conversation be a good thing?"
"For a soldier, it's a positive thing to be able to fall asleep instantaneously because you never know how much rest you can get at any given time. And I would like my daughter to have as many soldierly skills as possible even if she'll never be one so she can protect herself."
"But Wolf, we'll protect her."
Wolfram was silent and he kept on being silent until Yuuri finally prompted him.
"Wolf..."
"My wish."
"Oh," Yuuri said nervously, "you want to talk about it now?"
"Yes."
Yuuri's heart beat fast. Wolfram wouldn't ask for that? Would he? Yuuri was almost relieved that he lost the duel because the wedding talks, even though not necessarily his wedding, had died down and that sort of scary trepidation that wait in corners and dark closets no longer sneaked around waiting to trip him.
Wolfram sat up and faced Yuuri who was standing by the side of the bed.
"Yuuri... we're partners right?" Wolfram said in a very serious tone.
OH GODS!! "Well, y-yes we are," Yuuri gulped.
"Come on Yuuri, I'm being serious here."
"I'm not not serious," Yuuri countered not sure if what he said made sense.
Wolfram let out an exasperated sigh, "I'm trying to say this without getting you worried but instead it looks like you went in panic mode."
"...huh..."
Wolfram grabbed Yuuri's arms and shook him slightly. Watching his friend's reactions, he spoke softly and slowly, "Yuuri, quit panicking. I know where your brain has gone and that's not where I'm going. Look, I know you're not ready for that and I will wait for you for however long it takes. I'll always be by your side. As long as you let me. But that is not what I'm asking for... so breath."
Yuuri spent several moments just looking at Wolfram and staring into Wolfram's brilliant green eyes. He thought briefly how the movie never really captured the kind of green that Oz should have had. But no Hollywood company could have captured this kind of green. It was impossible to catch this beauty, package it and sell it to any Tom, Dick and Harry.
"Oh," Yuuri finally managed.
Wolfram released Yuuri, took a deep breath and started again, "We're partners and as partners we do things together and act together. We help each other. And protect each other. And protect our family. Together. Even when I am not with you, I'm still by your side because if anything happens to you, I'll know. And I like to think that you spare a thought for me when I'm not physically with you..."
"...of course I do Wolf..." Yuuri interjected.
"...as partners, we do things as one... but when the other cannot participate as equally as the other, then the other one must fill up the rest so it can be done."
"You lost me there."
"Look, I can help you with being a good king because you lack knowledge and you're wimpy and too trusting for your own good..."
"Well, I wouldn't put it that way..."
Wolfram gave him a look and Yuuri zipped his mouth.
"Yuuri, do I...?"
"You know I rely on you Wolf, I wouldn't know what I would do without you."
"Okay, so I can help you with being a good king... But I cannot help you with your school work. That is something that you have to do all by yourself. And you cannot help me with some of my duties like border patrols so I have to do those all by myself. And we both take care of Greta when we're here. But I do all of it when you're on Earth and you do when I'm away. Separately or not, we fulfill our obligations together."
"Wolfram, I'm not sure where you're going with all this."
"I want your permission to go to Zoratia..."
"Eh? What? You don't need my permission to go there. We'll all go together. If all you wanted was a visit there, we didn't need to go through the whole duel thing and this strangely serious conversation."
"Yuuri, that is not what I'm asking for." Wolfram carefully let his breath out.
"I don't understand."
"I went to Zoratia for a week one of the times that you were on Earth..."
"I never heard of this, how come you didn't tell me?"
"It's not that you were not told, it's that you don't pay attention."
"Oh." Now that he thought about it, Yuuri did remember talking about the rebuilding in Zoratia. He just never connected it with Wolfram going there. He never really put much thought behind information gathering, that was Gwendal's sphere. "Well you should have waited for me."
"You've been there before on state visits, this was pretty much one. But it was not what I wanted. I wanted to go there to gather information, but not for Shin Makoku. I begged Gwendal but he refused to let me go. I had to promise him one week free of Anissina for him to finally agree. And when he did, it wasn't worth it because he made me take Günter and it ended up as another state visit."
"Wait, repeat the part about Anissina."
"I bribed Gwendal to let me go by promising him that I would volunteer as Anissina's test subject so she wouldn't come looking for him. For a week. A whole week. I never want to go through that pain again," Wolfram shuddered.
"That's... that's... well..." Yuuri tried to say something but he didn't know what. Instead he burst out laughing. The thought of Wolfram in Anissina's laboratory being strapped to various machines somehow amused him to no end. But it wasn't just the amusement that made him keep laughing. It was all the nervousness and the seriousness... he needed the release.
A pillow landed hard on his face. Then a couple more. Then one hit hard and caught him at the right angle while he was clutching his stomach so that he ended up on the floor. Yuuri let out a few chuckles interspersed with hiccups.
Wolfram snickered a bit and smiled.
"I'm sorry Wolf."
"It's okay. It is kind of funny," Wolfram admitted as he moved and leaned his back on the headboard.
And they were silent for a few moments as Yuuri tried to catch his breath. Yuuri got up from the floor and sat on the bed facing Wolfram.
"Yuuri, I want your permission to go to Zoratia a week here and there and not necessarily to the capital either. I want to visit some of the villages also. And most likely, I will be scheduling the trips while you're on Earth. If I have your official permission, Gwendal wouldn't be able to deny my requests."
"But Wolfram, why would you want to go there. I understand that it's for Greta. But we already have the best spy network in this world if Gwendal is to be believed. There is no need for you to personally go there. Any information you want, you can just ask Gwendal to get for you. And I'll sign a decree so he won't withhold any."
"Yuuri, I am already getting all that information. But that's not what I need. The information that they gather is for Shin Makoku's use. It's the information that the ruler of Shin Makoku needs to deal with Zoratia effectively as one sovereign state to another. The information I need is for the ruler of Zoratia to effectively deal with his or her subjects. This is why I must go."
"..."
"Look, Yuuri," Wolfram said waiving his hand over Greta. "look at her. She grows so fast that it scares me. It may not be so bad for you because you grew up as a human. But as a Mazoku it terrifies me how fast she grows. I've gathered all the information we have about Zoratia and it's not enough. It's never enough. I've combed through the library so many times, it's frustrating."
Yuuri suddenly remembered all those blue notebooks on Greta's table and how they were filled with Wolfram's elegant handwriting.
"Her strength, her determination," Wolfram continued, "she will never allow us to keep her no matter how much we want to. She'll move out of our protection no matter how much we howl and scream and beg and plead. And no matter how much assistance and friendship Shin Makoku can give her and no matter how strong our family bonds are, she'll rely heavily on her own strength and the strength of those around her. In her kingdom. We'll only be able to hold her hand but we won't be able to keep her in our embrace."
Yuuri choked on tears. He did not want to face any of this. Greta was still his little girl and would always be his little girl.
"She's already learned half the materials that I currently have. It's not enough Yuuri. I cannot with good conscience send our daughter to rule over an unstable kingdom with a paltry hodpodge education about her own country. I need to understand the people of Zoratia so I can teach her. It won't erase all the worries," Wolfram laughed without humor, "I'll probably always worry, but I guess that's what parents do."
Thoughts flowed through silence...
Finally, Yuuri said, "Then let's go together."
"No, Yuuri! No. It's not possible for you to do this. So, as your partner, I must do your part along with mine. Do you understand?"
"No, Wolfram. If we are partners then I must do my part, you cannot keep me from my obligations to my daughter."
Wolfram took a deep breath willing himself to be patient. Which was very hard because he really really wanted to smack Yuuri violently right then. He knew this was going to happen.
"Yuuri, I will not go into a long drawn out argument with you. I'm tired and I want to go to sleep. So I'll list all the reasons why that would be a bad idea and then I'll remind you that I won the duel fairly and you will sign that permission anyway."
One more deep breath. Then Wolfram clamped his hand over Yuuri's mouth as it was about to open and spout the nonsense that Wolfram was not in any mood to hear.
"Shut up. Listen."
When Yuuri nodded, he took his hand off.
"But Wolf..."
Wolfram smacked Yuuri with another pillow.
"Okay, okay," Yuuri conceded putting his palms out to ward another attack.
This must be the night of exasperated sighs, Wolfram thought as he let out another big sigh.
"Why it's a bad idea for Yuuri the wimpy Maou to come with me his treasured fiancé to Zoratia. One, he's the Maou and needs to concentrate on ruling his own kingdom instead of running around in someone else's kingdom. Two, he already spends a lot of time away from his kingdom to fulfill obligations on Earth. Three, his advisors would never agree anyway and may also stop said treasured fiancé from fulfilling his obligations as father to the cutest girl in Shin Makoku. Four, if the Maou goes gallivanting all over Zoratia, he will bring along with him a bevy of guards and protectors making movement difficult. Five, since he is the ruler of a stronger nation, the Maou really needs to respect Zoratia's autonomy. Six, frequent visits from a foreign ruler may not be seen as friendly or advantageous by the administrators of any kingdom. Seven, it's easier for said treasured fiancé to move around and really get to know Zoratia's people, their culture, their needs if he is not constantly worried about the safety of his beloved Maou. Eight, Zoratia's government will not be overly concerned with the visits of said treasured fiancé as he will be seen mainly as Greta's father due to said fiancé's lack of station and political power except as the Maou's fiancé which isn't really that important."
Wolfram let out a long breath and gave Yuuri that rare soft smile.
"You're not unimportant, you know," Yuuri said quietly.
Wolfram swallowed. How does Yuuri do this to him, turn him inside out with the most ordinary words. He smacked Yuuri with a pillow again.
"Will you stop that!" Yuuri complained. "I get it. I get it. Geez... fine, fine. I'll sign the permission, just one thing..."
"No I will not bring Conrart with me," Wolfram interrupted before Yuuri could finish. "Say one more thing about that and I will smack you again with this pillow."
"Aargh! Wolfram! Sometimes you make me so mad I just want to choke you."
"Funny, that's exactly how I feel about you."
A gasp. Pupils dilated in shocked silence.
Honest feelings, fearsome thoughts, hot flushed skin, eyes darting everywhere avoiding each other in the chaotic stillness. There are shocking truths that youthful minds shy away from as if the loss of preconceived notions of childhood is a terrifying event to be avoided at all cost. It is only with a certain level of maturity that one understands that the loss of innocence is not something to be mourned but something to be celebrated.
It was Yuuri that broke the silence, "Would you... I just... it would... Wolfram... Please take Hube or Yozak each and every time you go there."
Wolfram replied with much relief, he could deal with pragmatic things. "Agreed. Hube is familiar with the region, his expertise would be invaluable. And Yozak is good to have in any human territory."
"Whew! I'm glad you agreed to that easily," Yuuri said as the world turned back to normal. "Deal."
Wolfram looked at Yuuri's outstretched right hand quizzically.
"It's an Earth thing. You put your right hand in mine and we shake our hands together to symbolize the agreement, the deal."
Wolfram placed his hand tentatively in Yuuri's and Yuuri shook their hands and repeated, "Deal?"
"Deal," Wolfram answered back.
And in one second flat, Wolfram was under the covers snoring, "gu lu gu lu gu..."
Yuuri was still sitting with his hand out which felt suddenly cold without the warm touch of his friend. He put it down and watched his two sleeping companions for a very long time wondering what god judged him good enough to be bequeathed these two beautiful beings.
Greta stirred and lifted her head, "Yuuri?"
"Greta, why are you awake," Yuuri said quietly. "Go back to sleep, it's late. I'll go douse the lamps."
"Not yet, I forgot to ask for my wish."
"We can talk about it tomorrow morning."
Greta shook her head. "Wolfram won so I get to have a wish too."
Seeing that she was not going to go back to sleep until she had her say, Yuuri complied, "Of course Greta. You can have anything you wish for as long as it is within my power to grant."
"Promise?"
"I promise," Yuuri said softly.
"I wish for a wedding to happen this month in the castle," Greta said happily and went promptly back to sleep.
Yuuri pounded his forehead on the soft bed and moaned, "Why do these things happen to me? Who did I piss off in the past life..."