The One You're With

The One You're With (Prologue)
by Tsutsuji
Fandom: Kyo Kara Maou!
Pairing: Conrad/Murata. Shinou/Murata (Shinou/Daikenja) referred to. Implied one-sided Conrad/Yuuri and one-sided Murata/Yuri. Also mention of Yuuri/Wolfram.
Rating: NC17, but only PG13 for this prologue for the implications. Next chapter has the kink. ^_~
Warnings: angst, a general lack of humor, implications of m/m sex and dominance/submission to follow. Not beta'd.

Summary: Shinou requests Conrad Weller's services once again, but this time the task is meant to be as much a reward as a duty. For the sake of the people they love most, both Conrad and Murata have lost the chance to be with those very same people. It's time to compensate.
If you can't be with the one you love....

AN: Inspired by a KKM Kink Meme request for "Conrad/Murata, blindfold, domination," which doesn't happen in this chapter, but this was written basically as the setup to make a Conrad/Murata dom/sub scene make sense. This can also be considered a follow up to "Too Much To Dream."

~~
Murata was not surprised to find Conrad standing on the castle wall, looking out at the dark night covering the land, with his back toward the castle where they'd left the wedding celebration in full swing. It would be winding down soon, leaving the King and his new husband free to slip away and enjoy their first night of wedded bliss.

"You thought it would never really happen," Murata said, "Or you convinced yourself you'd be happy if it did...."

From the frozen smile on Conrad's face, Murata could see that he was right; from the stiff set of the older man's shoulders as he turned away abruptly, he knew he'd said enough.

"Has it always been so obvious?" Conrad asked after a while.

"Probably not, to most people," Murata answered. He meant mostly that it was certainly not obvious to Yuuri himself, although he doubted anyone else had read so deeply into Conrad's obvious devotion to the Maou and his smiling indulgence in his younger brother's obsession with his accidental fiance. Conrad took his words in a slightly different way.

"Of course. The Great Sage always sees more clearly than the rest of us."

If he hadn't been listening closely for it, even Murata might not have recognized the soft bitterness under the calmly spoken words. He nodded, even though Conrad's back was turned to him; the gesture was to himself, anyway. Just like any other plan or strategy, no matter how clearly one could foresee the outcome, the key was recognizing the right moment to act.

He stepped toward Conrad, who turned to him with his usual warm smile firmly in place, as if it had never left his face at all.

"I didn't mean to disturb you, Weller-kyo" Murata said, "I only came out here to ask you to come to the Shrine tomorrow morning," he continued, allowing his tone to fall between pleasantly casual and soft command. "There's something rather important I'd like to discuss with you, privately, if you wouldn't mind."

Conrad didn't allow his expression to change, but gave him a stiff bow in response.

"As you wish, Geika," he said.

A volley of fireworks shot up from the castle courtyard, and more joined them from the town below and then from surrounding countryside. They watched in silence for a while, listening to shouts and whistles from the grounds, the pop and bang of the fireworks echoing off the castle walls as the kingdom celebrated the marriage of their beloved king and the dawn of a new era. Then, with another brief bow, Conrad walked away, a stark silhouette against the glittering sky.

~~


Conrad thought he could measure the eras of his life by the times he'd been summoned to this Shrine and Shinou's presence - and in spite of the casual way the invitation was made, he had no doubt that was Murata Ken's true reason for seeking him out last night and inviting him here. The real measurement of time, however, was in the difference in his mood between those visitations. This time, he didn't have the burden of the war and Julia's death to darken his spirit, but he no longer had the brightly burning faith renewed by Yuuri's presence, which had made it so easy to accept the difficult - ultimately, impossible - path Shinou had laid out for him then.

He frowned, still, as he entered the Shrine. Neither Ulrike nor any of the other Shrine Maidens came into sight, and the place felt as empty as the tomb it really was. Only Murata was there to greet him before the door of the inner chamber, waving a hand to him and smiling as if the invitation really was to a friendly breakfast. That was hardly likely to take place in the inner sanctum of Shinou's great shrine, however.

He couldn't help wondering if this had something to do with the wedding of the day before, but there had been no hint of trouble from any quarter as far as the marriage was concerned. Everything was as settled and peaceful in the country as he had ever known or heard it to be. Even Gwendal's perpetual frown had softened almost out of sight, and Yozak complained of having little to do with himself these days. It would be disappointing, to say the least, if trouble was brewing again already, when Yuuri had finally achieved the peace and happiness he had always wanted, not only for the country but for himself.

And, Conrad thought, in spite of Murata's startlingly observant words the evening before, no one was more pleased than he was to see Yuuri happily settled at last with his utterly devoted younger brother. Truly.

But if there wasn't political trouble brewing, why else would Murata have made the invitation, seeking him out after he'd left the wedding celebration to do so in private? He had wondered at first why Yuuri's friend had left the party, but caught up in his own mixed feelings about the much-anticipated wedding, he hadn't been prepared for anyone else to either guess or care how he was feeling about it. Seeing Murata's youthful, cheerful face this morning, in such contrast to his disconcerting words last night, Conrad suddenly thought to wonder if he was not the only one who had a secret reason to regret the joyful occasion, after all.

He looked closely at Murata, remembering that his surface appearance of being just a typical schoolboy from earth and Yuuri's close friend was not entirely a fabrication, even if his soul also held the age-old wisdom of the Great Sage, gathered through lives. He knew without doubt that Murata, and Shinou's spirit as well, were as devoted to Yuuri's well being as the rest of them were, but for the first time, Conrad considered the possibility that maybe Murata's care for Yuuri also had a more personal side as well.

It was hard to tell what Murata was thinking, except that Conrad no longer doubted on any level that he was loyal to Yuuri and to Shin Makoku. What that meant for him, though, he couldn't imagine. This time, he decided, he would consider whatever task he was asked to do with a clearer mind, without either the bitterness or the blind optimism that had colored his view on the previous occasions.

With that thought, he returned Murata's smile with an easy yet formal one of his own, and followed him into the inner chamber of the Shrine. He slowed his steps along the torch-lined passage when he felt the presence of another in the room, although Murata kept walking ahead of him toward the dais and the three empty boxes. Conrad stopped completely, and Murata stopped also and turned toward him, as Shinou appeared out of the flickering shadows.

~~


Yes, Murata thought, this was definitely the moment they'd been waiting for. Shinou took a step toward Conrad, smiling in welcome, and Murata watched the soldier's dark eyes narrow slightly.

"There's something I wish to offer you, Lord Weller," Shinou said. "Something of a reward, or compensation if you care to think of it that way, for your devotion and service to the Maou."

"It's not necessary," Conrad said immediately.

He frowned, looking unsettled, but at least he didn't take offense. It was exactly the response they expected of him. Shinou smiled; standing off to the side, Murata kept his expression neutral.

"Perhaps not, but I hope you'll accept my offer when you know what it is," Shinou said. "It is meant as a reward, with the hope that you'll find pleasure in it, but it is also a request for your services once again. I would like you to act on my behalf in a certain capacity which concerns my former strategist, since my powers to do so are limited now."

He gestured to Murata, who stepped in front of him to face Conrad directly. Conrad eyed him with unconcealed wariness now, obviously uncertain about what he was expected to do. Murata wondered if he'd even begun to guess the truth yet.

For just a moment, he looked up at Conrad with one of his MuraKen-innocent smiles. This did nothing to lighten Conrad's expression, but it did get his full, startled attention. Then, he turned to Shinou once again, who nodded and then stepped back into the edge of the shadows.

Murata dropped to one knee in front of Conrad, lowered his eyes to the ground between them, and clasped his hands behind his back. He took a deep breath; not since a time long past and in another body had he taken this same position before his beloved King, and never before another.

"For all that you've lost, and all that we've asked you to sacrifice, Lord Weller," Murata began, "of course there is really nothing that can compensate - I understand that, perhaps better than you know," he added, only glancing up quickly then to make sure he saw the glitter of understanding in Conrad's narrowed eyes. "I know I'm a poor substitute for that which you've recently lost the hope of having for yourself, as well. But, on behalf of Shinou and by my own choice, I offer you ... myself."

Murata didn't count the seconds, the slow heartbeats, until Conrad spoke again, and didn't raise his eyes to see what emotions were revealed on Conrad's face. He waited, only confident in the fact that Conrad didn't walk away.

"It's not necessary," Conrad said again at last, his voice dropped to a hush that whispered off the shimmering walls. But with Conrad's fingertips lightly touching his hair, tugging a lock over his forehead, the former Great Sage knew the request and the offer had been both completely understood, and accepted.

~
continued- yes!...

AN: I'm still seeking opinions and feedback on this idea, but thanks to Rowen Raven and Lijana, and Starrose17 on Livejournal, I finally figured out the next chapter, and have plans for more! Thank you!!