Bloom | By : chayron Category: +G to L > Kyou Kara Maou Views: 9093 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0 |
Disclaimer: I don't own Kyou Kara Maou! It belongs to its respective owners. This fan fiction is not a commercial project, and I'm not making any money from writing it. |
Disclaimer: I don’t own Kyou Kara Maou! – It belongs to its respective owners. This fan fiction is not a commercial project, and I’m not making any money from writing it.
Warnings: yaoi (male x male), violence, swearing, angst, drama. Wolfram-centric, out of character, original character.
Summary: With Yuuri’s upcoming birthday, Wolfram makes his decision. Where will it lead him and what is to become of them? Should eventually be Yuuri x Wolfram.
A/N 1: Yuuri – 18 years old. Wolfram – 21. Eldara – 32. Halea – 20. Athara – 18. Gwendal – 54.
A/N 2: Greta doesn’t exist.
A/N 3: European/American/Japanese standards all at once depending on the plot requirements.
A/N 4: A tendency to ignore the anime/manga and supplement the story with my own imagined facts.
A/N 5: Season III is not taken into consideration, except for the fact that Wolfram’s uncle exists.
A/N 6: The umlaut in Gunter’s name is a bother.
Bloom
by chayron (lttomb@yahoo.com), beta-read by Anonymously Awesome
Part 46
Yuuri knocked on the door and was let in by Wolfram’s drowsy voice. At the sight of the king, Wolfram tried to sit up.
“Your Majesty,” he greeted.
Yuuri raised his hands in an attempt to stop Wolfram from getting up. “It’s okay, don’t move.” Eldara wasn’t present for once and Yuuri felt grateful for the opportunity to be alone with Wolfram. “How are you?” he asked, approaching the blond’s bed.
“I’m fine, thank you, Your Majesty,” Wolfram said. He looked embarrassed. “I’m sorry for worrying everyone so much.”
Yuuri sat down on the chair beside Wolfram’s bed. “Please, can you stop calling me that, Wolfram?” He shook his head. “It’s…unpleasant. And don’t apologize. I am glad that nothing worse happened to you.”
“I’m sorry, Your Majesty.” Guilt washed over Wolfram when he saw anger and frustration appear on Yuuri’s face. “I’m sorry,” Wolfram apologized again, this time sincerely. “And I’m sorry you had to see that too.”
Yuuri’s cheeks reddened, but the anger left his face. He smiled awkwardly. “That pink nightie… I didn’t think you still had it.”
Wolfram’s face flushed red in embarrassment as well. “Uh, that… Eldara found it. We laughed about it and then sort of…” he trailed off, letting out an awkward chuckle.
Yuuri joined him with his own laughter. It sounded unnatural to his own ears. He didn’t even know why he was laughing when he felt like grabbing Wolfram and giving him a good shake. That pink nightie… The duke had fulfilled Wolfram’s sexual fantasy. Whether Wolfram had asked him to or von Ashira had figured it out on his own, it didn’t matter, and Yuuri didn’t care. The fact was that he felt as if something had been stolen from him; from both him and Wolfram. Yuuri felt a surge of jealousy, a very similar kind to what he had experienced yesterday.
Uncertain, Wolfram stared at Yuuri’s face – the king seemed angry. At some point, his awkward laughter had died and Yuuri just kept looking at his face.
“What do you think of von Ashira?” Yuuri asked suddenly.
“Uh.” Wolfram shifted uncomfortably at the unexpected question. The movement made him wince at the pain in his thigh. “Errmm… What do you mean?”
“You know what I mean. What are you going to do about him? Do you like him? What are your plans?”
Wolfram’s hands smoothed out the creases in the covers of his lap. “Um. Did something happen?” he asked uncertainly, thrown off by Yuuri’s firm voice. “For you to ask this… Some political changes maybe?”
Yuuri shook his head. “No, not at all. I’m just interested personally. As your…” he trailed off, searching for the right word. ‘Friend’ was probably the safest to use, but, at that moment, Yuuri felt contempt for the word.
“As my ex-fiancé?” Wolfram supplied helpfully, his eyebrows raised.
“Mnmn,” Yuuri mumbled under his breath, aware of the sardonic expression. “I’d actually prefer ‘friend’ over that.”
Wolfram’s fingers tapped his signet ring unconsciously. Why did he have to talk about Eldara to Yuuri? “Well…von Ashira proposed to me. I’m still thinking about it.” This felt incredibly uncomfortable.
“I know that much,” Yuuri said impatiently. “What do you think of him? Do you like him enough to marry?”
Wolfram felt anger starting to rise at the king’s demanding tone. What was with this offensive interrogation? “I do like him a lot, obviously. I wouldn’t be thinking about marrying him if I didn’t.”
“Do you love him?”
Wolfram glared at Yuuri. His mouth opened to spit out an answer, but there was nothing to say, and it closed again. “What do you care?” he huffed finally. “I’m thinking about marrying him, but I’m a little uncertain of Gwendal’s reaction.”
“What’s Gwendal got to do with this?” Yuuri said disapprovingly. “By the way, he isn’t against it at all,” he added bitterly. “The real question is whether you love that guy or not.”
“He isn’t?” Wolfram asked, surprised. “How do you know that?”
“He told me so,” Yuuri said. “Apparently,” he continued, irritated, “at some point, von Ashira has managed to convince Gwendal that he’s the most desirable spouse.”
Wolfram couldn’t help chuckling. “Oh? Last time we talked, Gwendal tried to persuade me not to marry.” That did explain, however, why currently the two of them seemed to be on much friendlier terms.
“That’s old news apparently.”
Wolfram was silent, and Yuuri was beside himself with annoyance. The king wanted to grab Wolfram and shake the living hell out of him. No matter how hard he had tried, he hadn’t managed to get the answer from the blond that he had wanted. Even the one he hadn’t wanted. Wolfram was being incredibly vague and evasive.
“I don’t like him,” Yuuri said stubbornly. He felt foolish saying that but he couldn’t stop himself. He wanted to pour out his entire annoyance and distress to Wolfram, to make him feel what he felt about the situation.
Wolfram only rolled his eyes in answer. He had heard this so many times that it didn’t faze him even a little bit. “Yes, I already understand that.”
“He’s a conniving two-faced bastard,” Yuuri grunted out.
Wolfram shrugged. “I fully agree with that, but don’t you think it’s unfair to talk about him behind his back?”
Yuuri’s face reddened in embarrassment, but he kept talking, “Why in the world would you want to marry him, then?”
“I like him.”
“I won’t let you marry him,” Yuuri persisted.
“Oh?” Wolfram said, unimpressed. “Is that a new decree?”
Humiliated, Yuuri blushed even more but didn’t avert his eyes. “Not really, but… I won’t allow it.”
For a few moments, Wolfram simply stared at him then his eyes went supernova. His face contorted in fury, the blond hissed, “What are you talking about? Forbid me to marry? After everything you made me go through?! You selfish bastard! How dare you?!”
Somehow, Yuuri felt relieved. This reaction was the closest to the real Wolfram he had felt for the past year. Despite the accusations, it was a more than welcome feeling.
“What the fuck are you smiling about?!” Wolfram yelled at him, moments short of punching his king in the face.
“Do you still love me?” Yuuri asked softly.
Wolfram’s eyes went wide in surprise. Even though the king’s voice was soft, Wolfram had heard it clearly. He stared at Yuuri, frowning. The blond snorted angrily. “Who cares about that?”
“I do,” Yuuri said. “I can’t take action before I know your answer.”
“What action are you talking about?” Wolfram asked. He suddenly felt uncomfortable under the king’s intense gaze.
“I am not sure yet, but I think I might like you. In that way.”
Wolfram stared at Yuuri. The younger man met his eyes steadily then, obviously, suddenly felt uncomfortable and averted them to the carpet under the bed. Wolfram’s eyebrows rose. “Really?” he asked a few moments later, skeptical. Then a thought occurred to him. “Did someone accidentally pour my mother’s perfume on you?”
Annoyed, Yuuri shook his head. “Of course not! It’s not the perfume. I like you,” he repeated, his eyes concentrating back on the blond’s face. “I don’t know for certain but…”
“I get it now. So you want me to reject Eldara because you think you might like me?”
“Yes,” Yuuri confirmed, relieved that Wolfram had grasped the situation so quickly.
Wolfram smiled at him. “Screw you, bastard.”
Distressed, Yuuri shook his head. “Wolfram, you don’t love him anyway. All I am asking is for you to wait a little while.”
“Until you’re certain that you really like me? Or until you’re certain that you don’t? Just like all the years that have already gone past?”
“I do like you!” Yuuri protested. “I’ve always liked you! You have always been my friend! But now I’m talking about…” Yuuri waved his hands about in frustration. “I think I do love you. When you left… I’ve been having all these thoughts recently… You don’t love him anyway. I’m asking you to give me one more chance. We can try to work things out. Just like you have always wanted.”
“I don’t want that anymore. And how do you know I don’t love him?”
“Well, do you?”
“Oh, piss off! Get out of my room!”
Wolfram was serious, Yuuri realized. He wanted to add so much more but everything he wanted to say was probably going to anger Wolfram even more. Even to his own ears he sounded like a selfish bastard, but desperate times called for desperate measures. He didn’t want to miss his chance just because he was indecisive.
Yuuri stood up. It was best to let Wolfram cool off. “I know this sounds absurd after everything I’ve put you through during the last five years, but this is really how I feel. Think it over, alright?”
“Leave.”
- - -
Wolfram and Eldara were having dinner in Wolfram’s room. The blond had invited the duke to dine with him, and he had gladly accepted the invitation. They were having roasted chicken wings with roasted potatoes and cabbage salad. A tray in a shape of a small bench was straddling Wolfram’s thighs. He was holding a chicken wing with his fingers while nibbling at it with his teeth. The duke was sitting further away at the table.
“You seem somewhat distraught,” Eldara said. The blond didn’t appear to have much of an appetite either.
Wolfram dropped the gnawed off bones down into his plate and reached out for the towel on the side of the tray to wipe his hands.
“Let’s get married.”
Eldara choked on the chicken he was chewing. After coughing for about a minute, he dealt with the chicken and gave Wolfram a teary, red-eyed look filled with incredulity. “Really? Why so suddenly?”
Wolfram, who had been watching his struggle with faint amusement, shrugged. “No reason. I think I’ve had enough time to think it over.”
The duke reached out for a glass with water and took a few gulps. He lowered it and turned to Wolfram again. “Are you sure?”
“Rather than asking me that, shouldn’t you act happy, or at least pleased?”
“Well, I’m pleased indeed. I, however, am more surprised than happy. It’s quite unexpected.”
“So now you’re withdrawing your proposal?”
Eldara shook his head. “No, I didn’t say that.” He gave Wolfram a searching look. “When are you going to tell your family?”
“I think today would be a great idea.” Wolfram took the bell from the bedside cabinet and rang it. One of the maids entered, and he asked her to call everyone to his room for an announcement.
Once the dinner was finished in the dining room, Wolfram’s family filed into his bedroom. Driven by curiosity and a large amount of dark foreboding, Yuuri had followed them. He didn’t feel so out of place as Gunter was also there.
The maid had just recently taken the plates and the bench away. The duke was standing next to the blond’s bed, composed and looking almost regal.
“We have an announcement to make,” Wolfram started with a glance at Eldara. “As of now, Eldara von Ashira of Raizgad and I, Wolfram von Bielefeld of Shin Makoku, are engaged.”
The sudden silence was broken by Cecilie clapping and congratulating them. Gwendal sent a withering glare towards von Ashira. The duke gave him a light shrug in answer. Gunter cleared his throat. He opened his mouth to ask whether it was really wise then thought better of it and asked them when they intended to have an official engagement party.
“The sooner, the better,” Wolfram replied. “Currently, I’m confined to my bed but I should be up and about in three weeks. Let’s opt for then. That should provide enough time for the invitations to reach everyone concerned and for them to arrive at Shin Makoku.”
Gwendal turned to the duke, who was unusually quiet. “Will it really be enough time, though? Your Grace would probably appreciate Your family’s presence for such a jolly occasion?”
Eldara gave him a restrained smile. “It is not necessary, Your Highness. An engagement party is basically just a rehearsal for a wedding. It is much more important for Halea and Athara to be present during the wedding ceremony.”
“If we are talking about that,” Gunter interjected, “where will the wedding take place, in Shin Makoku or Kardera?”
“Oh, we haven’t thought ab-”
“In Kardera,” Wolfram said with a glance at Eldara.
“You don’t seem to have discussed this at all,” Gwendal noted them drily.
“These are just minor details,” Wolfram told him, his voice dismissive. “Let’s concentrate on the engagement first.”
Yuuri, who had been quiet through the entire ordeal, drew everyone’s attention to himself by walking towards Wolfram’s bed and sitting down on the side of it.
“Could I have a word with Wolfram alone?” he asked, looking around at the faces in the room.
A little surprised, everyone met each other’s eyes but complied with the request.
“So this is your revenge?” Yuuri asked once there were only the two of them left in the room. “For all those years that…”
“No, of course, not,” Wolfram denied. “You just made me realize that there’s no point in stalling.”
Yuuri laughed bitterly. “How so? I was trying to do the exact opposite.”
Wolfram glared at him in contempt. “If you believe that once you come to me with your vague affection declarations, I will gratefully fall head over heels for you again, you are an idiot!”
Yuuri punched Wolfram in the shoulder playfully, which made the emerald eyes darken with anger even more. “I know that you’re doing this just to spite me. I should have seen it coming.”
“See this coming,” Wolfram said, punching Yuuri in the side. Since the blond was sitting in the bed, the punch lacked strength, but it was still enough to make the king slip off the mattress.
“You could have broken my arm again,” Yuuri accused, picking himself up from the floor and rubbing his sore ribs.
“It’s a pity I didn’t!” Wolfram hissed at him.
Yuuri brushed his clothes off and sat down on the side of the bed again. “Call off the engagement before it gets legally finalized,” he asked. “Why would you even want to marry that man? He didn’t even look happy about the engagement. Neither did you.”
Yuuri was right, Wolfram knew that. Instead of appearing triumphant that his proposal had been accepted Eldara looked mildly startled. Wolfram himself wasn’t happy at all, he was mostly irritated and filled with malevolence. He just wanted to end it all, to finally put a stop to his absurd love story. He had hoped it had ended, that he had put it all past him. And now Yuuri was starting it all over again. It was like a never-ending nightmare.
Silently, Wolfram watched Yuuri’s hands in his lap. Despite Yuuri’s attempt to appear resolute, he was nervously tugging at his shaky fingers. Maybe the king really did feel something for him, but that didn’t matter. That was all in the past.
“Yuuri, forget it,” Wolfram said. “It’s too late.”
“It isn’t,” Yuuri insisted. “Let’s try and see what happens.”
Wolfram shook his head. “I don’t want to take part in your vague experiments. Just let me go. It was never meant to be.”
“You don’t know that.”
“Yuuri,” Wolfram sneered at him angrily, “you can’t even get it up with a man, can you? What in the world could you possibly want with me?”
The question was perfectly sensible, but the blond’s derisive and cynical tone set something off in Yuuri. Moving forward, he grabbed Wolfram’s wrists and pressed him to the headboard. Wolfram winced at the pain in his leg while Yuuri’s weight pressed him down into the bed.
“Why don’t I find out?” Yuuri said, ignoring Wolfram’s pained expression. He pressed his mouth to the blond’s.
Wolfram didn’t resist. He had forgotten he could. He was so stunned by the impudent act that he could only stare, Yuuri’s face blurry from such a close range. Yuuri was bad at kissing. He hardly had any idea how it was done and was just moving his lips, nibbling on the blond’s. It didn’t help matters, of course, that Wolfram had turned to stone, neither encouraging him nor pushing him away, just waiting for Yuuri to finish his ridiculous act.
Yuuri moved his head away finally. They stared at each other. Yuuri appeared to be even more shocked than Wolfram by his own actions. He was resolute, though. Since Wolfram didn’t resist, he leaned in again, hopeful, but the blond freed his right wrist and shoved at his chest. Yuuri stumbled sideways and flopped onto the side of the bed then rolled to the floor. He yelped in pain as he hit it.
“And did you find out?” the blond hissed, furious while Yuuri was getting up.
Yuuri blinked at him dazedly. “I…”
“Get lost,” Wolfram said while Yuuri was just staring at him. Wolfram’s leg was throbbing painfully, but he hardly felt it.
“Wolfram…”
“Get out, you damn lunatic!”
Wolfram was shifting about in the bed, and it was clear that if Yuuri didn’t leave the room, Wolfram would. No matter how much Yuuri wanted to make use of his hardly mobile state, it was too much to hear his pain-filled grunts.
Yuuri walked to the door and opened it. He turned to look at Wolfram, who had stilled in his bed. “Promise me that you will think about this, alright?”
“I’m not going to think about anything!” Wolfram spat defiantly.
“That’s what I’m afraid of…” Yuuri sighed. Angrily, Wolfram grunted something out in response, but Yuuri closed the door.
ooOoOoOoo
A week passed, and Wolfram felt good enough to be carried outside to the garden. His chair stood facing the training ground. He was flanked by bushes, the recently-sprouted leaves of which made a passable protection from drafts. Next to him, there was a bench and a small table with a bowl of fruit, a carafe of water and a few glasses.
Wolfram watched men sparring and exercising their horses. Despite his yearning to be there in the yard with them, the sight soothed him. The castle was busying itself with preparation for his engagement party but he felt detached from it all. It felt as if he were watching them prepare for someone else’s celebration. He should have helped them with its organization, but his immobility was the ideal excuse to stay uninvolved.
Wolfram felt guilty for feeling the way he did but lacked will to actually do anything about it. Basically, he just wanted it to be over and done with without taking part himself. That was probably not the way to feel about one’s engagement, Wolfram realized.
Yuuri had tried to talk him out of it a few more times. It came to the point where, at the very sight of him, Wolfram would try and escape him. He hadn’t told Eldara about the king’s confession. He didn’t want to get Eldara involved and, to be completely honest, didn’t particularly care what the duke thought of this. It was Yuuri’s problem and no one else’s.
Something rustled in the distance in the garden, and Wolfram turned to see what it was. Above the bushes a mop of dark hair could be seen approaching. Wolfram groaned under his breath and wished that his chair had wheels.
In a few moments the King of Shin Makoku emerged from the bushes and onto the path leading to Wolfram’s haven.
“Oh, for gods’ sakes,” Wolfram muttered under his breath at upon seeing the look of resolution on Yuuri’s face. The king had him cornered.
Wordlessly, Yuuri sat down on the bench next to the blond’s chair. He took a deep breath and then sighed.
“You are making a mistake,” he said for the fifth time this week. He didn’t know where he had gotten this much courage and persistence from. During the past months he had surprised himself a great deal, the surprises just kept coming one after another. Despite his muddled and overwhelming feelings concerning the entire situation, Yuuri was certain about what he wanted. He desperately wanted to take action to make Wolfram his. He had probably never been more resolute about anything else in his entire life. There was a lot he wanted to convey to the blond. Wolfram, however, wasn’t keen on listening to him. His ridiculous stubbornness was driving Yuuri mad.
After Yuuri’s words, demonstratively, Wolfram turned his face to the sky and stared at the clouds.
“Will you stop that? Why are you so stubborn?”
“I could ask you the same. It’s finished, it’s over, please just leave me alone.”
“Nothing is over. I won’t allow you to marry.”
“Oh, really?” Wolfram chuckled in an unamused manner. He leaned closer to Yuuri. “Are you going to throw me in the dungeon? Or maybe you’ll get rid of him instead? Or, maybe, lock both of us up? You had better come up with a good reason because I doubt Orinth the Sixth would like the idea.”
From the corner of his eye, Yuuri noticed the bane of his existence, von Ashira, appear on the path. The man saw them and, albeit reluctantly, started heading their way. Yuuri groaned mentally; with that man here, he had no chance to change Wolfram’s mind.
“Let’s just talk it over,” Yuuri tried again desperately. “Let’s go to your room and talk.”
“Talk?” Wolfram asked. “You’re threatening to throw me into a dungeon! There’s nothing to talk about.”
“I’ve never said anything about any dungeons!” Yuuri shouted in exasperation. “It’s you who mentioned it!”
“Stop shouting at me!” Wolfram yelled at him, reaching out as if trying to bodily push Yuuri away and out of his sight, but failing since the king was way out of his reach.
“Wolfram,” Eldara said softly, warning. He gave a nod of recognition to Yuuri. “Your Majesty.”
“He’s threatening to throw us into the dungeon!”
Yuuri groaned when the duke’s sapphire eyes set on him in an unfriendly manner.
“Why is that? Your Majesty?” von Ashira asked questioningly.
“I’m not!” Yuuri denied. “I didn’t even say anything about it!” He turned to Wolfram. “Stop making things up, for gods’ sakes!”
There was something in the king’s voice that made Eldara look at him more intently. The young male was nearly hysterical. Wolfram, on the other hand, was already way beyond that. His emotional state reminded the duke of that time, back in Raizgad when he had just brought Wolfram to his castle, of the crazy incident with the servant in the baths.
“May I ask what you are arguing about?” Eldara asked even though he knew perfectly well what the drama was about. The other two, however, were in desperate need of a mediator.
“We aren’t arguing,” Wolfram said. “His Majesty was already about to leave.”
“I was not,” the king denied.
“Alright, then I will leave,” Wolfram said, holding his arms out for Eldara. “Help me get to my room, will you?”
Eldara gave him a rather apathetic look. Instead of walking over to Wolfram, he asked for permission and sat down on the bench next to Yuuri. Exasperated, Wolfram lowered his arms.
“You should listen when people are trying to tell you something important,” Eldara told him.
Wolfram glared at him. “I don’t care about what he has to say and I don’t want to hear any of that nonsense!”
“Wolfram,” the duke said, “shut up and listen to him.”
The tone left no room for protesting. Wolfram’s eyes were scintillating hatred but he stayed quiet. Amazed both at the effect of the duke’s influence and the unexpected source of help, Yuuri felt that he was starting to tear up. He had spent these past few weeks in such turmoil that his emotions were unstable. He suddenly felt so grateful to the duke that he nearly grabbed his hand for a handshake. Then again, he knew that the duke wouldn’t be happy to hear what it was really about.
“Do you still have feelings for me?” Yuuri tried again, avoiding the duke’s eyes. “It’s not too late. I…”
“I don’t have any feelings for you! How many times do I have to tell you?” Wolfram yelled at him. “It’s over between us! Leave me the hell alone!”
“Of course you have feelings for him.”
Both Wolfram and Yuuri turned to stare at the duke.
“I don’t!” Wolfram protested as soon as the surprise had passed. “Why are you suddenly on his side?” he demanded.
“I’m on your side,” Eldara assured Wolfram. “Marrying me is not really what you want, is it? I’m certain you realize that.”
“I don’t!” Wolfram grunted indignantly.
“You do,” Eldara said firmly. “And…frankly, I have no interest in marrying someone who is already in love with another man.”
“Yes,” Wolfram agreed, glaring at him, “especially when there’s someone else that you’re much more interested in.”
Eldara looked mildly startled. “You knew?”
“Presumed.”
Yuuri wasn’t certain what they were talking about but this seemed like the merciless end of their engagement. He could hardly contain his excitement.
The duke chuckled suddenly. “So you’re taking revenge on both of us, aren’t you?”
Wolfram sniggered in disgust. “Oh, don’t you make yourself sound a victim. You were the one using me.”
Eldara closed his mouth. Then he sighed. “And you still wanted to marry me? Are you out of your mind?”
Wolfram shrugged. “We make a good match – a pair of two-faced bastards.”
The duke laughed softly. “Indeed.”
Yuuri’s optimistic excitement started to wane. He didn’t want the two-faced bastards to make up.
TBC
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