Here we are at chapter 4, I really want to thank all the people who spent two minutes to review this fanfic, I appreciated it a lot.I'm still unsure, I mean, I don't know how many Maruma fans are used or interested to see this Wolfram and I'm quite afraid a lot of people won't appreciate this other side of the character, but this side was the one that made me fall in love with Wolfram in the novels and I really wanted to portray it for everyone. I hope also the plot is interesting enough for you, let me know ok?

Now, to answer some questions:
Yes Wolfram in the novels is very different, and for now the novels are being released only in Japan (but I know that there is around also the chinese version for 7 of them): there are currently 14 novels and the serie is continuing and becoming darker and darker every new volume.

Sadly for Wolfram fans, the latest novel ended with a big cliffhanger, I'm still suffering over that!

I guess if people are interested I might post some links on my profile so I can show you a little more of Wolf's novel personality. I like to translate for my Wolfram community on livejournal a lot of drama cds and novel extracts, I might link something so people here can enjoy them too.

Ok, now on the chapter!
Of course the usual disclaimer, I don't own Kyou Kara Maou! nor its characters, I only own Damien and the Ocs that appeared in this ff.

Thoughts are in italics, this chapter too is from Yuuri's POV

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The scene he was looking at seemed so foreign to Yuuri's eyes. He didn't even get off his horse, he just stood there, frozen, as if he was watching a TV show or something.

Wolfram, his fianc...no ex-fiance was being nice to another guy while three children were running around him, playing happily. Somehow, Yuuri found that there was something incredibly wrong with what he was seeing.

He saw the blond pointing at him and beginning to walk toward him, the other guy right beside.

"Hey, nice to meet you! I'm Damien" the young man said with a warm smile.

For some reason, Yuuri couldn't mirror that smile. "Ah, it's my pleasure, I'm...Chris!"

Then, Yuuri saw Wolfram approaching the side of his horse. "Come on, I'll help you get off, you should be careful in using your ankle," he offered.

Hold on, since when is Wolfram so friendly? Just up to five minutes ago he was silent and almost grumpy.

Yuuri got off the horse with too much strength, and landed directly in Wolfram's arms. They were so near he could feel the blond's breath. The king felt his heart skip a beat, he was mesmerized by Wolfram's face and vivid green eyes as he recalled his first meeting with Wolfram. When he first saw Wolfram and had called him a pretty boy and . . .

'what in the world am I thinking!?'

Realizing the direction of his thoughts, Yuuri retreated away from Wolfram quickly. He almost lost his balance as a result and blushed. But the blond didn't seem so affected, it was as if everything was normal. After making sure Yuuri could stand, Wolfram turned to Damien.

"So, do you think we could see Mr. Krek? I healed him, but I was a little tired, so it might not be enough." Wolfram asked.

"Ah sure, can you walk Chris?" Damien asked again.

"Yes, I think I can..."

"Here, lean on me!" Damien offered. Yuuri had to admit that this man was a nice person, but...

I would have preferred Wolfram! he thought, a little disappointed. But said blond was already in front of a little house, waiting for them. He opened the door and let Yuuri and Damien inside.

There was an old man there; Yuuri understood that it was the doctor of the village.

Wolfram, after helping Yuuri to sit down, talked a little with the older man explaining what happened and then left them alone, exiting the house with Damien.

Yuuri panicked, he didn't want to be left there! While he automatically answered the doctor's questions, his thoughts were always returning to the blond and what he had seen before.

When the check up on his ankle was done, Yuuri thanked the doctor and asked him if he had to pay something for the help, but the answer left him shocked.

"Don't worry," the man said, "you're with Wolf and he did so much for us, you don't have to give me anything." There was a thankful smile on his face.

What? What did Wolf do for them? Yuuri wondered.

There was something really weird happening and he couldn't find an explanation. First, Wolfram was actually being friendly and nice with a stranger and his family. Second, Wolfram apparently did a lot for these people and their village, and just what did this "a lot" mean? Third, Wolfram was actually being friendly and nice with a stranger.

Ah, no, that was the first one already.Yuuri realized he was more shocked to see Wolfram being at ease with someone than knowing that the prince had helped humans.

Leaving the doctor's house, Yuuri looked at the only small street the village had. There were houses all around, some of them a little damaged and some partially destroyed.

He had to find Wolfram again, damn it! But he didn't know where to start!

Then, the King felt a tug on his trousers and looking down, he saw the little girl from before. "Are you looking for Wolf?" she asked innocently.

"Yes, actually I am," he said, smiling. "Do you know where he is?" his tone was hopeful.

The girl just pointed at the end of the street.

"Thank you!" Yuuri said, patting her on the head.

Walking down the small street, he could see people around looking at him with curious expressions. It was evident that everyone knew each other in this place, that's why they were looking at the "foreigner" in that way. He felt a little embarrassed and tried not to stare at them.

Finally, Yuuri arrived in front of a semi-destroyed house that was being re-built again. There were a lot of men there, all of them working, and he could make out the shape of Wolfram between them, cutting some wood.

"Ah...Wolfram!" Yuuri shouted, smiling, not realizing that in the same moment everyone looked his way.

Wolfram looked at Yuuri, a little embarrassed. He stopped his work and approached him.

"Next time you call me, make sure not to scream, please!" the blond said in an embarrassed voice, looking behind him.

"Ah come on, Wolf, you saved his life, took care of him last night, it's obvious that he wanted to see you…there's no need to have such a reaction!" Again, it was Damien who had spoken, while putting his hand on Wolfram's shoulder. AGAIN.

Couldn't he try to be less...friendly with Wolfram? It's not like he has to touch him every time they talk...

At Damien's remark, Wolfram visibly relaxed and sighed.

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize I was screaming!" Yuuri said with a regretful voice.

"It's ok, make sure not to do it again," the prince replied, without looking at him.

"So, are you going to leave now, Chris?" Damien asked.

"Ah, no..." Yuuri said. Come on invent something...something... "I wanted to look around this forest a bit, it's the biggest I've ever seen..." he tried.

"That's really interesting, it's also what Wolf here is doing, you know?" Damien said, and then his hand was on Wolfram again, this time on his head. "He stops here for a while and then goes around..."

Ok now or never, here it goes…Yuuri took a deep breath.

"What a coincidence! I was planning to travel alone, but apparently it gets boring after a while and if it wasn't for Wolf I would have died..."

Wolfram was looking at him with an indescribable face.

"Well, it might be nice to go around all of us together, what do you say Wolf? At least until Chris becomes familiar with this part of the forest!" Damien said.

What does that mean, "all of us"? Is he going to come too??

"I guess it's ok, as long as he doesn't become a problem..." the blond answered, after thinking for a moment. "Come on boy, I'll show you where you'll sleep," he continued, "we can't possibly have you at Damien's house, it's barely big enough for his family. You'll sleep at my house."

Yuuri had never thought that the prince could shock him so much in one day. Wolfram has...a house??

Damien laughed. "Yeah, sorry, my house is full!"

And so, Yuuri started to follow Wolfram. The blond was not talking at all, now that Damien was not with them. Yuuri felt a slight uneasiness…he wanted to try to start a conversation, but he was afraid of Wolf just simply ignoring him, like he had the night before.

The walk didn't last long, and soon they ended up in front of one of the smallest houses Yuuri had ever seen. It looked like the ones they rent in Japan to young university students; inside there was a bed, a table, and pretty much…the bare minimum. The young king wondered if he was able to fit in there at all.

"So..." Yuuri tried again, "you live here?" Yuuri really hoped to make Wolfram talk.

"Yeah, isn't it obvious?" came the cold reply.

"How long have you been living here?" He really needed to make the blond talk more, he wanted the prince to be more friendly, like he was with Damien...

Wolfram looked at him, a little annoyed. But after a moment, he sighed, and then answered. "For around three weeks," he said as he sat on the bed. "People here let me keep this house, it belonged to a villager who died some months ago, and it's too small for the families that live here."

"They all look very kind," Yuuri said, starting to relax a little.

The prince smiled slightly and looked at him. "You can sit down, you know. You shouldn't be standing, the bed is not the best but it's not bad." He patted the place next to him on the mattress.

Shyly, Yuuri went to sit down, and again silence fell over the two.

Then, Wolfram stood up. "I'm going out. I have to help the men who are rebuilding that house." he looked at Yuuri.

"Ah, I want to come too!" Yuuri said. "They are being so nice and you are being so kind to share your house with me, I want to help!"

At this, the mazoku prince smiled a little. "You're still recovering. You can start tomorrow, but for now, get comfortable here. We don't need someone who would only slow the job."

Yuuri had to admit the way Wolfram said it hurt, but he was right: he would only be a problem since he couldn't move very well. "At least let me come to see what you all are doing, so tomorrow I'll be prepared! And I won't take 'no' for an answer!" he insisted. "I want to help too even if I can't do a lot, please, I want to thank you and the others!" He stood up and winced a little, but one could read in his eyes that he was serious.

Wolfram sighed. "Wimp!" The tone he used had so much in it. He probably said it in an annoyed way, but behind that there was kindness, affection and…pain?

Yuuri only smiled at his remark.

I guess even when I change my appearance, you can see through me as always, ne Wolf?

Without adding anything else, the blond approached Yuuri and took him by his shoulder. "Lean on me, so you won't stress your leg too much," he said. "Today, you are just looking at how things are going here and you'll tell some story to the children so that they won't get bored watching their parents working, ok?"

Again, it sounded more like an order than a request.

"Yes!" Yuuri said, smiling at the blond who, surprisingly, smiled back this time.

The young king felt a little more relaxed now that it looked like they established some kind of relationship. Even his leg felt better, although he would die before admitting it; he liked leaning on Wolfram, he was desperately trying to make the blond trust him. But the King understood that now he had to start again with the prince.

I'm just a stranger to him now...

When they arrived back at the house, Damien smiled and waved at them.

Wolfram left Yuuri sitting on a chair and called the boys around, telling them they had a new storyteller for that day. Before starting his work again, he patted Yuuri on the shoulder. "Good luck! You'll need it!"

And then, the blond was once again at his place, cutting the wood. Yuuri used everything he knew to make the children interested. He sometimes saw the mazoku prince looking at him, probably to check on how he was dealing with the boys. Apparently, Wolfram was pleased - even if Yuuri was only watching him out of the corner of his eye, he could see a satisfied smile on the blond's face.

It was in a moment where the children decided to play "hide and seek" that he felt someone sitting near him.

"You're good with children!" It was Damien, who had the ever present smile on his face.

Does this guy always smile? Yuuri asked himself.

"Ah, yeah, I love children!" Yuuri replied.

"And it also seems that Wolfram doesn't mind you at all, now," Damien continued. "From what I see, he likes you."

This made Yuuri blush and look at his feet. That's right...now I see, Damien reminds me of Conrad...

Before finishing his train of thought, Yuuri felt a strong pat on his shoulder.

"Hey, I didn't mean it that way, boy!" Damien joked.

Ok…and maybe also Jozak, but... he is not certainly a bad person...

Then he, too, was gone, Yuuri saw him approaching Wolfram and hugging him from behind smiling and laughing, making the blond look at him with an annoyed expression...even if Yuuri could see that the blond was not really annoyed.

I take that back, he is NOT nice. He is too touchy; what the hell? I should be the one to say who Wolf likes and who he doesn't, I've known him for a long time!

But somehow, the Wolfram he had in front of his eyes was not the Wolfram he knew anymore. He could still see some traits of the old selfish prince, like his being annoyed a lot, or his grunting and hmpfing, his being so direct with his statements that it was sometimes hurtful.

On the other hand, there were things that Yuuri was discovering and that made him realize that there was way more behind that "face" Wolfram showed to people. The question that came to his mind tasted of regret. Was Wolfram not showing a part of himself to Yuuri, or was Yuuri too engrossed into his own life and problems and "other friends" to see the real Wolfram?

He couldn't answer, but there was nothing that would prevent him from getting to know Wolfram again now! And Yuuri realized this was going to be the best chance he could have.

Now, if only that Damien would stop patting his fiancè's head and touching him he would have had a wonderful day!

That same evening, both Wolfram and Yuuri were invited to have dinner with Damien's family. Yuuri learned that Damien was basically one of the few young people that were in the village. Being so small and in the middle of the mountains, many of the sons of the other families had decided to leave, either to join the Maou's military force or to find a better way to live, far from there. The result was that the village was full of children, women and old people. Young men and women, even if they met there, once married, usually left the village, hoping to find fortune in other places.

Damien was one of the few young men who remained, helping out and taking care of his family. His father was dead and he was in charge of three younger siblings and his mother.

Around three weeks earlier, during a thunderstorm, a lightning got one of the biggest trees near the village. It fell down, burning, and the fire spread in the neighbourhood, destroying the houses. Nobody died, but a lot of people were badly hurt. That's when Wolfram arrived, and helped people by using his maryoku.

"He was a really grumpy guy, you know," Damien joked, looking at Wolfram, who kept eating.

"But then we saw him playing with Marie and realized there was more than meets the eye," Damien laughed. "Our beautiful angel actually had a soft heart!"

"Stop that, you know I hate it when you call me that," came the cold reply, though Yuuri could see a light blush there.

So, for all this time, Wolfram had been living like a peasant, helping some humans and healing people. It was unbelievable to imagine the blond doing all these things. The same Wolfram who used to sleep in his bed with a pink nightgown, paint horrible things, and was always screaming "cheater!" now was living like that. For the whole evening, Yuuri couldn't stop looking at the prince, except when Wolfram looked his way, but then he continued anyway.

How much do I still not know about you, Wolf?

While they were chatting, some man came to the house asking for Wolfram to go check on his wife, who apparently was a little sick. Yuuri would have gladly gone with him, and was standing up to do just that.

"You should go to sleep," Wolfram said, stopping him. "Tomorrow will be a hard day. Damien can bring you back to the house," he continued.

Yuuri was busy watching Wolfram as he left, but he spotted Damien coming toward him.

"Let's go!" he offered.

The walk to Wolf's house was silent. The atmosphere was really awkward, for some reason Yuuri couldn't point out. He felt as if Damien wanted to say something, but the king couldn't understand what that could be.

When they got to the house, Damien entered with him. While Yuuri sat on the bed, the man went to the window and looked outside.

Yuuri didn't know what to say, but apparently Damien did. "You know, I was really surprised when he brought you here..." he started.

Yuuri looked at him curiously... The tone of his voice was quite different from the one he had used up to now.

"He is nice, yeah, but he doesn't usually show it around so much..." Damien continued, "and definitely not in this way. I mean, helping you, bringing you here, and offering you his house…It wasn't a problem, we could have arranged for you to stay with me and my family..."

Yuuri didn't have any idea what Damien was trying to tell him and why

"You are nice, but I've seen him being cold with people way nicer than you." Damien finally looked at Yuuri. "That's why I don't understand...what does he see in you?"

For Yuuri it was as if he was seeing another person, completely different... Those eyes were looking directly through him. "But it was you who offered me to spend time with you two!" Yuuri replied.

"Just because I wanted to see his reaction. I didn't expect him to be ok with it so quickly," Damien answered.

A question came to the king's mind, but he was actually afraid to voice it out loud. In the end, his curiosity won out over his fear.

"Is there something between you two?" Yuuri wasn't really sure if he wanted to know the answer.

Damien smiled. "Listen, you've been here and with him for only one and a half days, but I think it's better to state things clearly from the beginning." He paused, and then added with determination, "Don't fall in love with him".

At this point the old Yuuri came back. "Me? With him? For god's sake we're both men, I would never fall in love with him!" his reply was so sudden that Damien was taken aback a little.

"What's the problem if you're two men?" he asked, "I've seen the way you were looking at him today. I know he is handsome but just forget it, it's better," he concluded.

"I was NOT looking at him in any particular way!" Yuuri answered quite forcefully.

And what the hell…even if I was? And what's with this, "you've been with him for only one day"? We've been together for a long time! He is MY FIANCÉ!

No, actually he was not his fiancé anymore. And he was not even interested in Wolf in that way. He just wanted his friend back and wanted to return to the castle with him... Was this too much to ask for?

"Well, this means I was wrong, I'm relieved now," Damien said, smiling again, this time in the old warm way.

They heard the door open, and the subject of their talk came into view. "Oh you're still here, Damien?" Wolfram said, putting some bags on the floor and taking off the first shirt he was wearing.

Yuuri could see the way Damien was looking at him now...

"I was leaving, I talked a little with Chris so he wouldn't get bored while waiting for you!" the man replied cheerfully. "Now it's time to go, see you tomorrow!" he waved, closing the door behind him.

Yuuri couldn't stop looking at Wolfram now. While the blond went out to wash himself and then came back, a lot of thoughts were forming in Yuuri's mind, and he realized at one point that the prince was looking at him with a curious face.

"You ok?" the blond asked.

"Oh, yeah," Yuuri answered. "I'll go wash myself outside now," he said, while going out.

The words of Damien kept ringing in his mind:"I've seen the way you were looking at him today…" I was NOT looking at him in that kind of way, I was just surprised for what I was listening to!

When he came back, he found Wolfram preparing for bed and realized the main problem.

There was only one bed. His embarassment grew.

"Ah, I'll sleep on the floor, could…could you give me that blanket you used when we were in the forest?" Yuuri asked.

Wolfram looked at him with a surprised face. "I don't mind, we can just share this bed if you're ok with it. The floor is quite cold, you'll risk getting sick even with the fire going, the bed is small but I think both of us can fit."

Now, he was sure the blush on his face was evident. On the contrary, Wolfram suggested it with the most normal expression he could ever have.

"Are...you sure?" Yuuri needed a confirmation.

"As long as you don't plan to jump on me while I'm sleeping, it's fine with me," Wolfram answered without any malice.

"And why would I do something like that!" came the almost immediate flustered reply.

Yuuri thought he saw a little smile on the prince's face. "Yeah, ok, no need to get so heated up," he said, lying down on the bed. "You're even wimpier than I thought!"

"I'm not a wimp!" The reply left his mouth before he could control it.

He saw Wolf's eyes open more...but almost immediately go back to normal.

For a moment I thought he discovered me!

Without adding anything else, Yuuri went to bed too. Wolfram's body was really warm and now that they were forced to be so near, Yuuri realized how much he missed the unmistakable scent and warmth of his friend.

The blond was fast asleep and, like a lot of other times, Yuuri found himself looking at his expression while sleeping.

Damien's words were still in his ears: "Just don't fall in love with him..."

Yuuri resolved to sleep, turning away from the blond's face. He didn't know why, it just seemed better...but that unanswered question didn't let him sleep for a while.

Ne Wolf, is there something between you and Damien?

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And that's all for now.

I have ready also chapter 5 but I guess I'll wait to see if after this chapter someone is still interested and then decide if I have to wait or not for the next one. I hope I didn't disappoint you!
As always, I love your reviews, hope they'll keep coming, they make me write faster and post faster.If you have any question about the novels, feel free to ask me, I'll gladly answer you.