"It's inappropriate and unacceptable," Gunter stated. Although he had every right to be indignant and frustrated, his tone was more pleading than anything.
"You're preaching to the choir here," Murata pointed out. He was doing his best to keep his amusement out of his tone and off his face. He had wondered how
long it would take for someone to draw him into the castle, but he had really expected Yuuri to be the one doing it. Instead he found himself seated at the head
of the recently vacated dinner table in a late night meeting with the castle's adults. The irony was killing him.
"Yuuri will listen to you," said Conrad. He calmly waited for Murata to stop snorting. "Having lived in the same world, you understand the way he thinks better
than anyone. You can speak to him as a friend, rather than an adviser."
"And what friendly advice would you have me give him?"
"Appeal to his reason," said Gunter. "He wouldn't dream of housing Greta in the servants' wing. Surely he'll understand why having the Maou move into the
soldiers' wing is simply unacceptable."
Conrad shook his head. "Arguments like that won't sway him. He doesn't care about class differences."
"I'd prefer that he never does," Cecilie commented. "That's one of his many charms." She turned an appreciative smile on Murata. "No. What you must do is
appeal to his romantic nature. It would be far easier to woo Wolfram in the privacy of the Royal Chamber, after all. The bed was made for just that."
"Mother," Gwendal bit out repressively.
"What?" she demanded. "I agree that the current situation is unacceptable. Just because my reasons differ from yours-"
"This has nothing to do with the engagement," Conrad said firmly, giving them both a quelling look. "Yuuri is concerned about Wolfram's safety and is
deferring to his wishes out of guilt. What you need to do," he said to Murata, "is assure him that he has nothing to feel guilty about. He was placed in an
untenable situation and made the only choice he could have made. He's the only one who can't seem to accept that."
"Of course he can't," Murata scoffed. "He doesn't just perform 'justice,' he believes in it and adheres to it as well." He held his silence while Conrad and Gunter
quickly expounded on Yuuri's innocence of any wrongdoing. Their definition of poetic justice clearly differed from his own. What was he supposed to say to
them? they certainly didn't want to hear the truth. Their paragon of virtue was a light push away from jumping Wolfram and the bedroom they were in when it
happened wouldn't change anything.
"Please speak with him," Conrad finished.
"If you insist," Murata sighed. He could almost hear a certain former Maou chuckling at his expense. He suspected a kinder person would be apologizing in
advance at this point. "While I'm advising Yuuri, what will you be doing about Wolfram?"
Conrad sighed heavily. "I doubt he'll concede. Gwendal and I will speak with him, but I suspect we'll have no choice but to remove him from the castle."
"Really?" Murata inquired. "And you don't think Yuuri will have anything to say about that?"
"Not if Wolfram leaves by choice," said Gwendal.
Unless Wolfram had been brow-beaten and guilt-tripped into making that choice. If that was the route they intended to take, then as Yuuri's friend, and the
Maou's sometime adviser, he would be obligated to inform him. Did none of them realize that? Twinkling green eyes and a small knowing smile told him at least
one of them did. That was something. For the others, his reputation demanded he give at least a token of sage advice. "You're about to make an awkward
situation far worse."
"How could things possibly get any worse?" Gunter demanded dramatically.
Since that was clearly intended as a rhetorical question, Murata didn't bother answering it. They'd find out soon enough.
.-.
Oblivious to the meeting taking place on the other side of the castle, Yuuri was engaged in the surprisingly fun task of feeding his fiance. While he had always
been bemused by Wolfram's groggy half-asleep state, he had never thought to take advantage of it. Having returned to the room to find Wolfram asleep at his
desk, after specifically reminding him not to doze off, he had to make sure he didn't go to bed on an empty stomach. He couldn't chew for him, but he could
definitely make sure the food at least got to his mouth. That was the fun part.
"I'm not hungry," Wolfram grumbled. Even if he had been, sleep was much more tempting than plain fare like bread and boiled potatoes that hadn't even been
seasoned properly. He wrinkled his nose when Yuuri cheerfully brought the loaded spork to his mouth.
"You're so hungry your stomach is gurgling," Yuuri pointed out.
"It is not," Wolfram huffed. He grudgingly opened his mouth and then muttered around the food. "Rude of you to suggest such a thing."
"Rude is not apologizing for falling asleep on me, and not thanking me for bringing you dinner."
"No," Wolfram insisted, "rude is you-" He was interrupted by the cracker Yuuri slipped into his mouth. The boldness of that distracted him for a full minute,
during which he chewed and accepted a sip from the cup he was offered. He had clearly felt Yuuri's fingers against his lips. What made him think he could do
that? The one time he had tried to hand-feed Yuuri, his fiance had blubbered like a baby. Now here he was offering him a bit of bread with an amused and
confident smile. Wolfram snatched it with his teeth, gulped it down whole, and glared indignantly. "Rude is kissing me and then running away."
Yuuri's eyes widened with surprise, but instead of blushing he found himself grinning. "At least you didn't fall down this time."
"How would you know? You didn't wait around to find out."
"Actually, I did," Yuuri admitted sheepishly. "I waited outside the door."
"Wimp," Wolfram said scathingly. "Count yourself lucky I was too dignified to come after you. I had a mind to."
Yuuri eyed him closely and decided that although Wolfram was more awake now than he had been, he wasn't nearly as comfortable with the topic as he was
trying to act. That gave him the confidence to tease him. "To kiss me back?"
"To hit you," Wolfram snapped. He wouldn't have, but he had honestly wanted to. "I won't have you kissing me just to prove that you can. It's insulting." It was
also unfair because it left him unable to kiss Yuuri back unless it was for the very same reason, just to prove that he could.
"I did it the first time to prove that I was serious." With awful results. He should have known his second attempt hadn't gone as well as he'd hoped. "I did it
earlier because I wanted to."
"Then you shouldn't have run away afterward."
Yuuri scowled at his tone. He couldn't believe he was being lectured about this. "I left because I didn't want you to freak out again. The last time I kissed you,
you shut yourself in the closet!"
Heat swamped over Wolfram's face. "We were in bed together! After the way we woke up, how did you expect me to react when you-" A firm press of lips
silenced him. Although it lasted a bit longer than the other two it wasn't really a kiss. It was a prelude to a kiss, only neither of them moved to make it real.
Yuuri's eyes were far too serious, looking nearly as frustrated and bewildered as Wolfram felt. After a long moment, Yuuri pulled back.
"Why did you never kiss me, Wolf? Didn't you ever want to?"
Pride alone kept Wolfram from looking away as self-disgust twisted his insides. He was so ashamed of the way he had thrown himself at Yuuri. To have Yuuri
question him about it just made it worse. "I wanted a lot of things, but I wanted them for all the wrong reasons. You treated our engagement like a bad joke, as
if my future didn't mean a thing to you. If I had thought for one second that kissing you would do anything besides make matters worse, I would have done it.
But there was only one time when I really wanted to."
"When?" asked Yuuri. He couldn't do anything about the past except try to make up for it. Wolfram's future certainly mattered to him now, because he was
determined to share it.
"In the cave," Wolfram said, with a wry smile. "Do you remember that? I wanted to kiss you then."
Despite a helpless blush at the memory, Yuuri grinned. "You wanted to share body heat."
"I wanted to share you. Not my fiance, not the Maou, just you, Yuuri." Brushing his knuckles along Yuuri's cheek, he tilted his head and leaned forward to
press a firm kiss on his mouth. He licked his lips and there was a brief awkward meeting of teeth. Then Yuuri's mouth opened and they were tasting each
other. A real kiss. He tasted a hint of salt from the food they had eaten, but this was Yuuri and that made it sweet.
.-.
Sometime after the meeting broke up, two conspirators met in a darkened bedroom. One was snug, if not quite happy, in bed. The other was fully dressed and
seated on the edge of the bed. A ruffle of hair and a light kiss to the forehead from the latter brought a long sigh from the former.
"I wish you would talk to Wolfram."
"Believe me, he won't listen to anything I have to say."
"Maybe you're wrong. You could at least try."
A slow smile answered that. "When it comes to this family, I'm never wrong. Don't you know that by now?"
"Nobody likes a meddler."
"Such words of wisdom. Go to sleep. Tomorrow should prove quite...interesting."
"Wait. What did happen to that map?"
"I imagine one of the maids made off with it. Don't worry. No one would ever connect it to you."
"Because I didn't draw it."
"Of course you didn't."
.-.
In another part of the castle, two others were doing their best not to conspire anything beyond guaranteeing the peace and safety of their king and his fiance.
At least, one of them was. The other one was too worried about his little brother to think clearly. Yosak rather enjoyed being the clear-headed reasonable one
for a change.
"I rushed back because you said it was an emergency." Folding his arms over his chest, Yosak eyed the man with open amusement rather than the pity he so
dearly deserved. Not that he didn't feel sorry for him, because he certainly did. It couldn't be easy having one's loyalties divided like that. Conrad's problem
was that he looked so deeply for possible threats that he missed the obvious. "This looks like a clear case of matchmaking to me."
"Mother denies having done anything. She's the only one who could have transported Morgif."
"As far as we know," Yosak pointed out. "Not many have actually tried. And the map? You haven't even asked Greta about it."
"I don't have to. She's never even been in the soldiers' wing. She couldn't possibly have drawn it."
"Unless he had help. I get it," he said, before he could be interrupted, "I really do. But you have to admit everything here points to meddling females. The only
hint of a threat is that someone tried to enter the room. Maybe. Or maybe they were jsut checking to make sure the door was bolted. That's something an
overprotective person would do, which you know for a fact because you've done it yourself. You've even had me do it a time or two."
"He has no business staying in that wing if he can't even remember to lock his door at night," Conrad muttered, running a hand through his hair. "Now he has
Yuuri in there as well. He should know better. He has to know better."
"You said it was Yuuri's idea. Maybe your brother has as hard a time saying no to him as you do."
"If he did, then they'd both be in Yuuri's room right now and none of this would be an issue. I wish they would make a clean break and be done with it. I thought
that was what Wolfram wanted, but at this point I have my doubts. The longer this drags on, the more difficult it will be for both of them."
"They'll have to muddle their way through that on their own. Separating them might make it easier, especially since you won't have to worry about whoever is
meddling around here at the castle. And if there really is a threat, then it's likely to follow Wolfram. Might as well set up a trap while the bait is out in the open."
"I am not setting him up as bait!" Conrad shot to his feet and paced. Had he not already retired for the night, he might very well have left for a few hours. A fast
ride would go a long way to settling his mind. "If there is a threat, it's right here and he's better off away from it. You haven't heard anything, so there's no
reason to think-"
"I haven't heard anything because every time I catch a hint of rumor you have me running back here to shadow Wolfram and his squad. I didn't even make it to
the border this time. You have to make up your mind, already. Decide to keep me on him or let me go do what I do best. You're wasting my talents. If you think
it's an outside threat, give me time to head it off. If you're convinced it's already here, then button the hatches until we can root it out. Either way, he's going to
be a target, and Yuuri as well, now that he's back. Might as well keep them together so they can both be protected at the same time. Unless that's what you're
really afraid of...them being together?"
Conrad grimaced at his suggestive grin. Yosak didn't need to waggle his eyebrows like that in order to get his meaning across. "Don't you start. I hear enough
of that from Mother. You would think she didn't know Yuuri at all. Of course I'm not afraid of him crossing the line."
"No," Yosak agreed, "Wolfram's more liable to do that. I actually admire his restraint."
"Yosak."
"I do. It can't be easy sleeping with the person you love and not taking advantage of the situation. I certainly never managed to hold back like that."
"That's not what I called you back here to discuss."
"We're not really discussing anything," Yosak waved. "Your mind is already set on splitting the lovebirds up. You'll stay here and protect Yuuri, I'll shadow your
brother, and we'll both hope for the best. Now sit back down. If it's a ride you need to clear your head, I'm willing to do the honors. Might as well make myself
useful while I'm here."
"You're crass and incorrigible."
"I know," Yosak grinned. "Isn't it great?"
.-.
Yuuri went to bed with a hard-on. During his few years since hitting puberty, he had spent plenty of time imagining what it would be like to make out with
someone. True, until recently those imaginings had only featured girls, but he hadn't thought it would be that different with another guy. Groping and fumbling
and rubbing and panting. Messy frantic heated contact. Never had he pictured it seated in a chair, leaning forward with only their mouths touching. Once
started, Wolfram wasn't the least bit shy and after a while Yuuri wasn't either. He couldn't get enough of his mouth, his tongue what his nonexistent experience
dubbed erotic to the extreme. Kissing him had quickly gone from a surprisingly easy and comfortable pleasure to a thrilling need. They were just getting
started and any lingering fears he had about going further were swept away. Then, just when he was thrumming with a heady urgent excitement, Wolfram had
pulled away and bid him goodnight with a sweetly hesitant smile. Leaving him sitting there with a raging hard-on the likes of which he had never imagined on
himself.
What the hell was wrong with him? And it was just him. His stunned eyes had followed Wolfram's progress to the bed and spotted no evidence that he was
similarly affected. That was so unfair he actually found himself fighting back an inexplicable rage for a moment there. His first instinct was to demand Wolfram
finish what he had started or, even better, prepare for him to finish it. As if he'd really have the nerve to ask such a thing, let alone demand it. Eventually his
indignant outrage sheepishly settled down. His arousal, on the other hand, did not. There was no longer any doubt about it. He was most definitely gay for his
fiance. Stealing a peck on the lips from him had been a daring move he'd had to force himself to make. But one kiss from Wolfram, the invitation of it, and he
was ready and eager to dive head-first into as much as he could get. He wondered if that was what his brother had meant when he had commented on how
attractive he'd found Wolfram when he was being forward. That thought was followed by another burning rush of rage that took even longer to beat back down
than the last had. It was nearly an hour before he finally trudged his way to the bed, and still that hard-on lingered.
He climbed in and put his back to the cold wall. His body had to calm down at some point. In the meantime he didn't dare touch Wolfram for fear he'd rub
against him like a horny dog. He was in serious trouble. If just kissing Wolfram left him like this, what would happen when they really did make out? He
immediately called himself an idiot. Thoughts like that were not helping his body forget what it wanted to be doing at the moment. By all rights, Wolfram should
have been suffering just as much. He focused on that, on the unfairness of it all, until his body finally, grudgingly, succumbed to sleep.
It felt as if only a few minutes had passed when he was disturbed by a thump on the bed. A soft whine from Wolfram had him burning his face closer against
his neck. It couldn't possibly be time to get up. A soft laugh and a slight rocking of the mattress snapped him out of his sleepy daze. He opened his eyes to
stare dumbly at the dark-haired boy leaning over him. "Murata...?"
"You really should keep the door bolted at night," Murata advised him. "If Von Christ had walked in on this, you'd be married by sundown. And the envy of
many," he added, with an appreciative look at Wolfram. He was just waking up and appeared tousled and fetching beneath the black bedspread and his
rumpled fiance. Murata couldn't help but smirk. "It's nice to see the two of you getting along so well."
For a split second Yuuri almost ordered him from the room, determined to see him suitably punished for daring to look at Wolfram like that. Then he realized
he was lying on Wolfram with a knee between his legs while Murata was sitting on the edge of the bed taking in the entire scene. His face flamed as he
scrambled away, yanking the blanket up over Wolfram as if he wasn't fully clothed in his white pajamas. "What are you doing in here?" he asked, his voice
coming out a little higher-pitched than he liked.
"Waking you up, of course. Good morning, Your Excellency," he said to Wolfram, who slowly sat up with a dark, if groggy, scowl. "I'm afraid I have to steal your
fiance away now. He has work to do." He shrugged apologetically at Yuuri, whose face still looked on the verge of combusting. "Someone had to fetch you.
Better me than Von Christ, right, Shibuya?"
"How did you get in here?" Wolfram muttered.
"The door was open. And I have a way with the castle guards, not to mention the maids. I can be very charming. Haven't you noticed?"
"Don't flirt with Wolfram," Yuuri snapped. He promptly grimaced when they both turned to look at him, Murata raising an eyebrow and all but grinning with
amusement. With a tired groan, he climbed out of the bed. "Just let me get dressed. I don't see why you couldn't have waited till after breakfast. I don't have
that much paperwork left."
Murata followed him, leaving Wolfram to flop back on the bed with the covers pulled over his head. "From what I hear, you have a new habit of being late for
breakfast, when you don't miss it entirely. As the Maou, you should really try to be more punctual."
"I get enough lectures from Gunter," Yuuri complained. "I don't need any from you."
"Just advising you," Murata said amicably. "People around here seem to think that's my job. I'm too nice to argue with them."
As if Murata didn't enjoy the attention and deference he received as a result. Yuuri didn't bother commenting on that. Although he resented having someone
come in to wake him up, something he wasn't supposed to have to deal with in Wolfram's room, he had been wanting to talk to Murata. He was feeling grumpy
enough to make him wait in the hall while he got ready, but he was glad he wouldn't be going very far. Once he was dressed he went over and shook
Wolfram's shoulder until he got a bleary-eyed glare for his efforts.
"You have to work," Wolfram grumbled, "I don't. Let me sleep."
Yuuri smiled. "Just get up long enough to lock the door behind me. Okay?"
"Should have thought of that last night." With a loud sigh, he crawled out of the bed and followed him to the door.
"We won't be making that mistake again," Yuuri agreed. He kissed him and was disappointed when Wolfram pulled away after just a light brush of lips.
"Morning breath," Wolfram grimaced, waving him away "Mine, not yours. I'll see you later, at a more decent hour of the day."
"At breakfast?"
"More likely lunch."
Yuuri frowned, but didn't argue. He'd have someone wake him for breakfast if he couldn't get back here in time to do it himself. Wolfram had been missing too
many meals lately. It was no wonder he fell asleep so easily. He left the room, listened for the bolt, and then followed Murata down the hall. They reached the
corner before Yuuri noticed what was missing.
"Where are the guards?" Yuuri demanded, halting in his tracks. "They're supposed to be guarding the door at night."
"I'm sure they were. I passed a few on my way in who appeared to have been up all night. But it's daytime now, and there are plenty of soldiers around here to
keep an eye on things. It is a soldiers' wing, after all." He smiled suddenly and directed Yuuri's attention down the hall. "See?"
Yuuri looked over just in time to receive a casual wave from the dark-haired pansy who had tattled on him last night. Annoyance brought a scowl to his face as
he watched him settle on the floor with a deck of cards, quickly joined by another boy in blue from the room across the hall. The second one glanced over at
him and said something that had them both laughing quietly. It was all Yuuri could do not to march over there and say something to them. He had no idea what
he would say to them, but he would say something to wipe those smiles off their faces. A hand caught his arm and tugged him around the corner before he
could take a single step in their direction.
"As fun as it might be to hang out in the soldiers' wing, it's only a matter of time before Von Christ comes to see what's keeping you It's tough being the king,
eh, Shibuya?"
"Yes," Yuuri muttered. "It really is."
.-.
PART 9
.-.
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