KKM - GwenAni - Flux - PG-13
Title: Flux
Fandom: Kyou Kara Maou
Characters: Gwendal, Anissina
Summary: This is how it is.
There's never been a time that they haven't been together. They grew up together, the only two children of their age in their generation. He was the Maou's eldest son, impotent and ignored as his uncle trampled all over the authority of the Maou. She was the daughter of one of the oldest noble families in the whole of the kingdom.
They shape patterns from the cradle. He bottles up his emotions, face dark and everything softer, everything childlike is crammed down into the few moments of privacy that he can steal from ceremonies and duties. She has a mind like quick-silver, bright and fluid and she skips over crawling, going straight to walking, striding impatiently after her nurse when the old woman takes a book before she's finished with it. He is quiet, reserved and methodical. She is loud, exuberant and chaotic, her thoughts and ideas bubbling up and over in a never-ending stream of inspiration and realisation.
The years pass, the Maou marries again, and again. Gwendal has two younger brothers underfoot and he and Anissina find themselves playing at parenting. Cheri is trapped in the ceremonial role of the Maou and the mere idea of letting Stoffel near his brothers makes Gwendal's brows knot.
The boys are lucky. They learn loyalty, duty and obligations from Gwendal. They learn to use a sword, learn to read the archaic histories and learn to keep their chins up and their lips closed. Anissina teaches them to think, to question and the finer points of politics; information gathering, misdirection and blackmail. The two younger princes learn well, growing strong and proud.
When war comes, Anissina leaves to join the engineers, Gwendal takes command of a far-flung castle. The night before they leave, they seek each other out under the cloudy sky. They talk in stilted uncomfortable sentences, groping around the edges of shared unease. When they realise what it is, they both fall silent. For the first time, they are being separated. It is more than likely - given the strength of their enemies and the tempo of the war - that at least one of them will be killed.
They sit together, arms tight around each other for the rest of the night.
When they leave the next morning, neither of them says "Goodbye."
Fandom: Kyou Kara Maou
Characters: Gwendal, Anissina
Summary: This is how it is.
There's never been a time that they haven't been together. They grew up together, the only two children of their age in their generation. He was the Maou's eldest son, impotent and ignored as his uncle trampled all over the authority of the Maou. She was the daughter of one of the oldest noble families in the whole of the kingdom.
They shape patterns from the cradle. He bottles up his emotions, face dark and everything softer, everything childlike is crammed down into the few moments of privacy that he can steal from ceremonies and duties. She has a mind like quick-silver, bright and fluid and she skips over crawling, going straight to walking, striding impatiently after her nurse when the old woman takes a book before she's finished with it. He is quiet, reserved and methodical. She is loud, exuberant and chaotic, her thoughts and ideas bubbling up and over in a never-ending stream of inspiration and realisation.
The years pass, the Maou marries again, and again. Gwendal has two younger brothers underfoot and he and Anissina find themselves playing at parenting. Cheri is trapped in the ceremonial role of the Maou and the mere idea of letting Stoffel near his brothers makes Gwendal's brows knot.
The boys are lucky. They learn loyalty, duty and obligations from Gwendal. They learn to use a sword, learn to read the archaic histories and learn to keep their chins up and their lips closed. Anissina teaches them to think, to question and the finer points of politics; information gathering, misdirection and blackmail. The two younger princes learn well, growing strong and proud.
When war comes, Anissina leaves to join the engineers, Gwendal takes command of a far-flung castle. The night before they leave, they seek each other out under the cloudy sky. They talk in stilted uncomfortable sentences, groping around the edges of shared unease. When they realise what it is, they both fall silent. For the first time, they are being separated. It is more than likely - given the strength of their enemies and the tempo of the war - that at least one of them will be killed.
They sit together, arms tight around each other for the rest of the night.
When they leave the next morning, neither of them says "Goodbye."