FIC: Suitors - (Chapter 05: The Longest Night Part I)
Title: Suitors - (Chapter 05: The Longest Night Part I)
Author: Batty_Gal a.k.a Tetra26
Rating: T
Fandom: Kyou Kara Maou
Pairing: Wolfram x ???
Word Count: 3283
Fic Type: Ongoing
Fic Summary: After Wolfram ended his engagement in a fit of rage, suitors from all around started to flock to the castle to seek his hand - much to Gwendal's dismay. Who will capture his heart? A random noble? Murata? Yozak? And, what about Yuuri? Sequel to 1 Up.
Chapter Summary: Part one of what seems to be the longest night ever starts as the ball kicks off, Gwendal buys a clue, and Yuuri falls in and out of love in the span of a minute - prompting him to come to a stunning realization.
Previous Chapters: 1 ~ 2 ~ 3 ~ 4
Prequel: 1 Up: 1 ~ 2 ~ 3 ~ 4 ~ 5 ~ 6 ~ 7 ~ 8 ~ 9
Suitors (Chapter 05: The Longest Night Part I)
by Tetra26/Batty Gal
Lady Cheri hadn't lied when she claimed that she invited almost everyone, and the way the ballroom was packed was proof of that.
When Yuuri walked into the ball (fashionably late by ten minutes, as suggested by Günter), there was hardly any room for him to maneuver around. He took in all the elaborate gowns with their hoop skirts and puffed sleeves, and concluded that the clothing probably took up at least twenty-five percent of the space in there.
He had to admit to himself that Cheri had outdone herself. The decorations were brilliant, and the food looked and smelled wonderful. He shook his head when he noticed that Beautiful Wolframs were strewn around the room in vases, as part of the various display pieces, and hanging from the ceiling. Even the members of the orchestra had a few tucked either in a jacket pocket or behind one of their ears.
Yuuri was not surprised at how quickly he was swamped upon walking in, especially since Lady Cheri had sent that terrible invitation out. He had not wanted to come, but Wolfram's threats were effective. After his second attempt at fleeing, Wolfram had tackled him and firmly pressed a sharp knee into his back. Yuuri would have done anything to get rid of the pain, which was why he promised to attend the ball after all. Such a simple method of torture, but it worked.
“Your Majesty, how nice it is to see you!” an overdressed young girl said to him, batting her eyes. Yuuri shivered. She didn't look that much older than his daughter, Greta.
“Nice to see you as well,” he said, politely. He was unsure of Shin Makoku's age-of-consent, but he was not about to go there and find out. He nodded his head at her, before walking off.
He did not get far, before Anissina reached out and grabbed him.
“Your Majesty, come here with me! I want you to meet my cousins!” she said, happily.
Yuuri internally groaned. He hoped they were nothing like Gwendal's cousin, who he noted was practically chasing Günter around the room. He also hadn't missed the way Adelbert was glaring at him, and he guessed that Herschel had probably tried something with his date, Gisela, too.
He allowed Anissina to pull him over to where the orchestra section was, waving at everyone who greeted him along the way. He looked back and quickly scanned around the room as he went along, trying to catch a glimpse of Wolfram. Unable to locate him, he hoped that Wolfram had not decided to ditch at the last minute. Especially since Wolfram had practically strong-armed him into attending.
Anissina chose then to suddenly stop, and he crashed into her due to looking behind him - but not hard enough to knock her completely to the ground. He turned his head around to apologize, but was met with a sight that made his heart race.
Yuuri stared wordlessly at Anissina's two cousins - or, to be more honest, he stared mostly at the female one.
He swallowed hard, unable to give her a proper greeting. He could not believe how beautiful she was. Almost as beautiful as...
Yuuri did not even bother to complete the thought.
Even her brother, who was dressed completely informally in trousers and a shirt he didn't even bother to tuck in, was beautiful - but in a more carefree way. They both had the same warm brown eyes and coral-toned hair - his chopped short in a cut similar to Conrad's, with hers in shoulder-length spiral curls.
Yuuri was in love.
“Your Majesty, these are my cousins. Kord is the boy, and Lotte is the girl,” Anissina said.
“Nice to meet you,” the boy said, cheerfully. He held out his surprisingly delicate hand, and Yuuri shook it.
“Likewise,” Yuuri said. He instantly felt at ease around the boy, probably because - even though he was beautiful - there was nothing overwhelmingly spectacular and perfect about him, unlike most of the males there. In short, he didn't feel so intimidated and homely around him.
“Nice to meet you,” the girl spoke up to him, her voice low and almost sultry.
“And I am their mother, Doris,” a thin woman, with sandy blond hair and the same brown eyes they had, said.
Yuuri simply nodded politely to her, his eyes going back to the girl.
“Nice to meet you, Lotte,” he blurted out suddenly to the girl, and bowed.
Her face scrunched up in anger, and Yuuri feared that he had just made an etiquette error according to Shin Makoku rules. He mentally went down the “things-to-absolutely-not-do” list Günter had taught him, and could not come up with one he had broken.
He was about to apologize anyhow, but the girl spoke up, effectively stopping him in his tracks.
“I'm not Lotte, I'm Kord.”
“You are? I thought Anissina said that the girl was Lotte and the guy was Kord?” Yuuri questioned. He was sure he had gotten it right.
She instantly looked even more affronted than before, and Yuuri thought he was about to hear some choice words, but her mother shot her a look that made her back down.
“I am a guy, she's the girl,” Kord said, pointing to the smirking girl that Yuuri had thought was male beside him.
Yuuri was out of love.
“Wait, you're a... that's the...” he couldn't even get what he wanted to express out. Yuuri simply couldn't believe that the beautiful creature was a guy, and not a girl - especially since he was wearing what appeared to be a dress.
“We get that often,” Lotte said cheerfully, while Kord simply crossed his arms and looked off to the side.
“Well, if you would be more ladylike and put on a dress, you wouldn't get it at all,” Doris said to her, snootily.
“And if you would allow Kord to be more manly instead of dolling him up all the time, he wouldn't get it either,” she shot back.
The atmosphere started to feel ominous to Yuuri as he watched the mother and daughter glare at each other.
“Well, I hope you all enjoy the ball tonight,” Yuuri said, laughing nervously. He was beginning to understand why Gwendal was so very upset with him.
“Where's Wolf?” Kord asked, quietly.
Yuuri tensed up at the nickname, which was one that only a handful of people used for Wolfram - and only close people at that.
“He's not here yet, I don't think,” he said, measuring his words. He wondered if Kord and Wolfram knew each other well.
“Drat, I wanted to see him before my performance.”
“Performance?” Yuuri asked.
“Yes. I'm to sing tonight,” he said.
“Your Majesty, did you not pay attention to Günter's lessons on the music of Shin Makoku? Kord is wearing the Tenor's dressing! It's what performers of pieces from the Seventeenth Maou's rule wear!” Anissina said.
“I see,” Yuuri replied, not really seeing at all.”If you'll excuse me, I need to go check on my daughter.”
In truth, he wanted to find a drink, and toss it back as fast as he could. He had been there for less than five minutes, and already he wanted the night to be over. He wondered how in Shinou's name could he last the next few hours!
Wolfram sighed as he made final adjustments to his clothing.
It was time.
A month's worth of plotting, planning and scheming were to be put into effect, and Wolfram was anxious about the entire matter. It did not help that he hadn't been feeling all that well since that morning.
A big part of him wanted to forget the plans, and just show up as is. He had been dealing with being pursued since his engagement had ended almost a year prior, what was one more night?
Every time he started to follow that line of logic, however, his more scheming half would point out that he hadn't had to deal with hordes of them at one time. Sure, he had attended a ball after that unfortunate night, but at that point the situation wasn't as intense as it currently was.
Or, rather, the majority of people had been waiting to see if the Maou would attempt to renew the engagement.
Wolfram sighed, again. A part of him had wanted Yuuri to reinstate things, but he had known there was no way Yuuri would have given up his new freedom. Yet he had been surprised when, along with the hurt, he had felt relieved that it was finally over. He supposed that finally knowing the answer would always be no, rather than holding onto hope for years that the answer might eventually be yes, was better. He no longer held illusions about his and Yuuri's relationship.
Or maybe he was lying to himself so much, that he found it convincing.
Was he really okay with it ending like that?
Wolfram didn't know the answer to that then, nor did he know if he would ever have it. What he did know, however, was that his thoughts and dreams were no longer filled with just Yuuri. There were others there now.
Wolfram pushed all thoughts of Yuuri and the others out of his mind as he walked toward his bedroom door. Yozak was waiting for him, and the both of them were ready to get this night over with.
A wave of nausea washed over him as he touched his doorknob, and he almost doubled over. He didn't feel good at all. He hoped that it would rapidly pass.
He hoped the night would also pass quickly, as well.
Yuuri once again found himself wading through the crowd, half-heartedly waving at the people who greeted him. He was almost smothered by one of the grandest puffed sleeves he had ever seen, and wondered if there would be carnage on the dance floor once the waltzes began.
He chuckled to himself upon imagining the last woman standing on the dance floor, having won the battle of the ball gowns by using her dress as a weapon to smother or otherwise injure her rivals. He envisioned the prize as being an all-expenses paid trip to the asylum of her choice.
A drink tray almost made it past him, but he managed to stop it in time. He grabbed one glass of Shin Makoku's finest wine, but threw all caution to the wind and ended up taking another. He figured he would need it by the time the night was over.
He noticed a spot near the doors to the outside, and decided to stand over there. It would come in handy if he had to get out, quickly. He managed to reach the place before someone else did, but imagined that no one other than him wanted to flee from this event quickly, aside from Wolfram, who wasn't even there yet.
Yuuri once again wondered if Wolfram would show up, and thought about several ways he could get him back if he didn't come. He knew, however, that he would never go through with them. Still, the thoughts of Wolfram whining for Yuuri to get off of him for once entertained him.
A vision of a flushed Wolfram, writhing underneath him with his hands held above his head by his own, caused Yuuri to quickly drain his first wine glass and half of the second one. He did his best to push the thought out of his head, but the harder he tried, the more it treaded into even unsafer territory.
He tried thinking about playing baseball, and the scene shifted to him and Wolfram, in the same position, right smack on third base. It didn't help that what he suspected was the “home crowd” was filled with a set of cheering Muratas, while the “away crowd” had a bunch of booing Shouris.
He didn't even want to know what that latter thought implied, not when he was having such a huge problem with all of the former thoughts.
Yuuri thought that perhaps the wine was already taking effect, even though he didn't feel all that different from when he walked in. He wouldn't be surprised if the wine had a completely different reaction on his body than Earth alcohol. He once ate a Shin Makoku pear and spent three days utterly depressed.
After closing his eyes and breathing deeply for a minute, he managed to push that atrocious vision to the back of his mind. Yuuri wondered why he kept having such thoughts about Wolfram, of all people. It wasn't like Wolfram was a girl. He was a guy. That complicated things.
He opened his eyes, his vision focusing on Kord von Karbelnikoff. Yuuri thought about how his heart has raced when he had first laid eyes on him, back when he thought he was a she. He remembered how he had turned off all romantic feelings once he found out that beautiful being was another guy.
Wait a minute, turned off? He turned off his feelings? Yuuri scoffed at the idea. There was no way he could turn his feelings on and off like that. If he felt something for someone, he would openly feel it, right? He wouldn't repress what he felt for someone, would he?
Yuuri gasped loudly when his next thought answered that question with “unless it was another guy”. He emptied the second wine glass, ignoring the funny looks that people nearby were giving him.
It was too much to come to terms with, especially at that place and time. Realizing that he had been actively repressing any feelings he had for certain people due to their gender was like having to suddenly carry around a hundred extra pounds, and the sudden weight of his thoughts almost caused him to sink to the floor. His mind, unwilling to yield to his thought-suppressions anymore, rapidly went down the list of men that he had actively repressed himself from thinking about in certain ways. Men that he hadn't been confused into thinking were women, unlike Kord.
His father's best friend. His teacher from grade seven. His baseball teammate, Yoshida. The times he thought Günter might be the most lovely person in existence, watching with awe as he happily lectured him on the most mundane of things. Any time Conrad effortlessly used his sword against an enemy, pausing only to quickly wipe away the sweat that accumulated on his forehead. Murata, the times their often-naked bodies got squished together when leaving and returning to Earth. Gwendal, whenever he blushed or smiled or did anything other than glare at him.
And Wolfram, the only one of them where the feelings weren't fleeting, but constant. The only guy that he had repressed his feelings for, practically on a daily basis.
That first time he awakened to find Wolfram in bed with him, naked. The few times when Wolfram had actually come on to him. The occasions when Wolfram had pulled him closer to him in his sleep, his breath against his neck. Each and every of the times Wolfram had come to save him, even when his own personal cost was far higher than Yuuri's own.
He was still reeling over the thoughts and realizations when Wolfram finally entered the ballroom, date in tow.
The majority of people in the room were stunned when Wolfram von Bielefeld walked in on the arm of a tall brunet with gorgeous blue eyes - a man that seemed familiar and unfamiliar at the same time.
When Gwendal spotted Wolfram's date, he immediately noticed that it was the same man he had seen with his brother the last time there was a ball at Blood Pledge Castle. His mind ran through a list of noble families that the man could be related to, but drew a blank. Ultimately, he shrugged his shoulders and went back to the conversation he was holding with his other brother.
However, he found himself continuously turning from Conrart to Wolfram's date, unable to shake the feeling that he knew him from somewhere. There was something extremely familiar about the man to him, as if he knew the man very well.
After turning and staring for the umpteenth time, Gwendal turned back to his brother, about to ask if he knew the mystery man. But before he could open his mouth, he noted an almost expectant smirk on his face. He was about to ask him what it was about, but Wolfram's date suddenly twirled him around on the dance for, distracting him from his purpose.
He hadn't missed that his brother seemed almost tense when they had first started dancing, and raised his eyebrow at how Wolfram visibly relaxed in the man's arms after the twirl. He was about to turn once more back to Conrart when it suddenly hit him who the man was.
He groaned out loud, and buried his face in his palm. Conrart's snickering let him know that he was well-aware of who Wolfram's “date” was, and that expectant look from earlier was just him waiting to see how long before he figured it out.
Gwendal glared at Conrart. “Tell me you did not tell Wolfram what I did to get out of my own problem,” he grumbled.
“No, I didn't tell him. Wolfram thinks a lot like you, you know? This was his own idea with Yozak.”
Gwendal couldn't even get angry over the deception, not when he, Günter and Anissina had done something similar at a ball many years prior. Only, no one had dressed up as someone else. He had walked in with Anissina on one arm, and Günter on the other. The gesture spoke louder than words, and once the rumors spread only a few people had bothered pursuing him again. And, since he was used to murmured insults thanks to his mother's free-loving ways, he wasn't all that bothered by the comments about his “lifestyle”.
“Does he know you know that's Yozak?” Gwendal asked.
“Yes, he told Yozak to inform me,” Conrart responded.
“They aren't really together, are they?” Gwendal asked, remembering the rumors he had heard about them months prior. “I can't say I would have a problem with it, but if they are I don't see why Yozak should have bothered to disguise himself.”
“No, they aren't really together - though I suspect that Wolfram might have some sort of hero-worship going on for Yozak. This is just something they came up with to keep the vultures off of Wolfram tonight.”
“Since when are they in cahoots with each other...” Gwendal trailed off as he realized that, more likely than not, Yozak had probably had a hand in all of Wolfram's exploits in the Saralegui incident. He felt like a tool for how easily Yozak, and especially Wolfram, had played him throughout all of it.
“Tomorrow, I'm going to have a very long talk with the two of them,” he grumbled.
“If tomorrow comes. Something tells me this night is going to last forever.”
“What makes you say that?” he asked.
“Adelbert just lunged at Herschel.”
Gwendal looked up, and saw with dismay that Conrart was right. Günter was trying to restrain Adelbert, while pushing Herschel's arms away from his own body.
“Gwendal, it's been ages,” a familiar and falsely-sweet voice rang out behind him, freezing him in place. He turned around slowly, and was met with the superficial smile of Doris von Karbelnikoff.
A long night, indeed.
Author's note: This is the re-edited version of this chapter. Changed Conrad to Conrart when applicable, plus a few other grammatical changes. Next chapter: “Kelby Loring” plays it smooth.
Author: Batty_Gal a.k.a Tetra26
Rating: T
Fandom: Kyou Kara Maou
Pairing: Wolfram x ???
Word Count: 3283
Fic Type: Ongoing
Fic Summary: After Wolfram ended his engagement in a fit of rage, suitors from all around started to flock to the castle to seek his hand - much to Gwendal's dismay. Who will capture his heart? A random noble? Murata? Yozak? And, what about Yuuri? Sequel to 1 Up.
Chapter Summary: Part one of what seems to be the longest night ever starts as the ball kicks off, Gwendal buys a clue, and Yuuri falls in and out of love in the span of a minute - prompting him to come to a stunning realization.
Previous Chapters: 1 ~ 2 ~ 3 ~ 4
Prequel: 1 Up: 1 ~ 2 ~ 3 ~ 4 ~ 5 ~ 6 ~ 7 ~ 8 ~ 9
Suitors (Chapter 05: The Longest Night Part I)
by Tetra26/Batty Gal
Lady Cheri hadn't lied when she claimed that she invited almost everyone, and the way the ballroom was packed was proof of that.
When Yuuri walked into the ball (fashionably late by ten minutes, as suggested by Günter), there was hardly any room for him to maneuver around. He took in all the elaborate gowns with their hoop skirts and puffed sleeves, and concluded that the clothing probably took up at least twenty-five percent of the space in there.
He had to admit to himself that Cheri had outdone herself. The decorations were brilliant, and the food looked and smelled wonderful. He shook his head when he noticed that Beautiful Wolframs were strewn around the room in vases, as part of the various display pieces, and hanging from the ceiling. Even the members of the orchestra had a few tucked either in a jacket pocket or behind one of their ears.
Yuuri was not surprised at how quickly he was swamped upon walking in, especially since Lady Cheri had sent that terrible invitation out. He had not wanted to come, but Wolfram's threats were effective. After his second attempt at fleeing, Wolfram had tackled him and firmly pressed a sharp knee into his back. Yuuri would have done anything to get rid of the pain, which was why he promised to attend the ball after all. Such a simple method of torture, but it worked.
“Your Majesty, how nice it is to see you!” an overdressed young girl said to him, batting her eyes. Yuuri shivered. She didn't look that much older than his daughter, Greta.
“Nice to see you as well,” he said, politely. He was unsure of Shin Makoku's age-of-consent, but he was not about to go there and find out. He nodded his head at her, before walking off.
He did not get far, before Anissina reached out and grabbed him.
“Your Majesty, come here with me! I want you to meet my cousins!” she said, happily.
Yuuri internally groaned. He hoped they were nothing like Gwendal's cousin, who he noted was practically chasing Günter around the room. He also hadn't missed the way Adelbert was glaring at him, and he guessed that Herschel had probably tried something with his date, Gisela, too.
He allowed Anissina to pull him over to where the orchestra section was, waving at everyone who greeted him along the way. He looked back and quickly scanned around the room as he went along, trying to catch a glimpse of Wolfram. Unable to locate him, he hoped that Wolfram had not decided to ditch at the last minute. Especially since Wolfram had practically strong-armed him into attending.
Anissina chose then to suddenly stop, and he crashed into her due to looking behind him - but not hard enough to knock her completely to the ground. He turned his head around to apologize, but was met with a sight that made his heart race.
Yuuri stared wordlessly at Anissina's two cousins - or, to be more honest, he stared mostly at the female one.
He swallowed hard, unable to give her a proper greeting. He could not believe how beautiful she was. Almost as beautiful as...
Yuuri did not even bother to complete the thought.
Even her brother, who was dressed completely informally in trousers and a shirt he didn't even bother to tuck in, was beautiful - but in a more carefree way. They both had the same warm brown eyes and coral-toned hair - his chopped short in a cut similar to Conrad's, with hers in shoulder-length spiral curls.
Yuuri was in love.
“Your Majesty, these are my cousins. Kord is the boy, and Lotte is the girl,” Anissina said.
“Nice to meet you,” the boy said, cheerfully. He held out his surprisingly delicate hand, and Yuuri shook it.
“Likewise,” Yuuri said. He instantly felt at ease around the boy, probably because - even though he was beautiful - there was nothing overwhelmingly spectacular and perfect about him, unlike most of the males there. In short, he didn't feel so intimidated and homely around him.
“Nice to meet you,” the girl spoke up to him, her voice low and almost sultry.
“And I am their mother, Doris,” a thin woman, with sandy blond hair and the same brown eyes they had, said.
Yuuri simply nodded politely to her, his eyes going back to the girl.
“Nice to meet you, Lotte,” he blurted out suddenly to the girl, and bowed.
Her face scrunched up in anger, and Yuuri feared that he had just made an etiquette error according to Shin Makoku rules. He mentally went down the “things-to-absolutely-not-do” list Günter had taught him, and could not come up with one he had broken.
He was about to apologize anyhow, but the girl spoke up, effectively stopping him in his tracks.
“I'm not Lotte, I'm Kord.”
“You are? I thought Anissina said that the girl was Lotte and the guy was Kord?” Yuuri questioned. He was sure he had gotten it right.
She instantly looked even more affronted than before, and Yuuri thought he was about to hear some choice words, but her mother shot her a look that made her back down.
“I am a guy, she's the girl,” Kord said, pointing to the smirking girl that Yuuri had thought was male beside him.
Yuuri was out of love.
“Wait, you're a... that's the...” he couldn't even get what he wanted to express out. Yuuri simply couldn't believe that the beautiful creature was a guy, and not a girl - especially since he was wearing what appeared to be a dress.
“We get that often,” Lotte said cheerfully, while Kord simply crossed his arms and looked off to the side.
“Well, if you would be more ladylike and put on a dress, you wouldn't get it at all,” Doris said to her, snootily.
“And if you would allow Kord to be more manly instead of dolling him up all the time, he wouldn't get it either,” she shot back.
The atmosphere started to feel ominous to Yuuri as he watched the mother and daughter glare at each other.
“Well, I hope you all enjoy the ball tonight,” Yuuri said, laughing nervously. He was beginning to understand why Gwendal was so very upset with him.
“Where's Wolf?” Kord asked, quietly.
Yuuri tensed up at the nickname, which was one that only a handful of people used for Wolfram - and only close people at that.
“He's not here yet, I don't think,” he said, measuring his words. He wondered if Kord and Wolfram knew each other well.
“Drat, I wanted to see him before my performance.”
“Performance?” Yuuri asked.
“Yes. I'm to sing tonight,” he said.
“Your Majesty, did you not pay attention to Günter's lessons on the music of Shin Makoku? Kord is wearing the Tenor's dressing! It's what performers of pieces from the Seventeenth Maou's rule wear!” Anissina said.
“I see,” Yuuri replied, not really seeing at all.”If you'll excuse me, I need to go check on my daughter.”
In truth, he wanted to find a drink, and toss it back as fast as he could. He had been there for less than five minutes, and already he wanted the night to be over. He wondered how in Shinou's name could he last the next few hours!
Wolfram sighed as he made final adjustments to his clothing.
It was time.
A month's worth of plotting, planning and scheming were to be put into effect, and Wolfram was anxious about the entire matter. It did not help that he hadn't been feeling all that well since that morning.
A big part of him wanted to forget the plans, and just show up as is. He had been dealing with being pursued since his engagement had ended almost a year prior, what was one more night?
Every time he started to follow that line of logic, however, his more scheming half would point out that he hadn't had to deal with hordes of them at one time. Sure, he had attended a ball after that unfortunate night, but at that point the situation wasn't as intense as it currently was.
Or, rather, the majority of people had been waiting to see if the Maou would attempt to renew the engagement.
Wolfram sighed, again. A part of him had wanted Yuuri to reinstate things, but he had known there was no way Yuuri would have given up his new freedom. Yet he had been surprised when, along with the hurt, he had felt relieved that it was finally over. He supposed that finally knowing the answer would always be no, rather than holding onto hope for years that the answer might eventually be yes, was better. He no longer held illusions about his and Yuuri's relationship.
Or maybe he was lying to himself so much, that he found it convincing.
Was he really okay with it ending like that?
Wolfram didn't know the answer to that then, nor did he know if he would ever have it. What he did know, however, was that his thoughts and dreams were no longer filled with just Yuuri. There were others there now.
Wolfram pushed all thoughts of Yuuri and the others out of his mind as he walked toward his bedroom door. Yozak was waiting for him, and the both of them were ready to get this night over with.
A wave of nausea washed over him as he touched his doorknob, and he almost doubled over. He didn't feel good at all. He hoped that it would rapidly pass.
He hoped the night would also pass quickly, as well.
Yuuri once again found himself wading through the crowd, half-heartedly waving at the people who greeted him. He was almost smothered by one of the grandest puffed sleeves he had ever seen, and wondered if there would be carnage on the dance floor once the waltzes began.
He chuckled to himself upon imagining the last woman standing on the dance floor, having won the battle of the ball gowns by using her dress as a weapon to smother or otherwise injure her rivals. He envisioned the prize as being an all-expenses paid trip to the asylum of her choice.
A drink tray almost made it past him, but he managed to stop it in time. He grabbed one glass of Shin Makoku's finest wine, but threw all caution to the wind and ended up taking another. He figured he would need it by the time the night was over.
He noticed a spot near the doors to the outside, and decided to stand over there. It would come in handy if he had to get out, quickly. He managed to reach the place before someone else did, but imagined that no one other than him wanted to flee from this event quickly, aside from Wolfram, who wasn't even there yet.
Yuuri once again wondered if Wolfram would show up, and thought about several ways he could get him back if he didn't come. He knew, however, that he would never go through with them. Still, the thoughts of Wolfram whining for Yuuri to get off of him for once entertained him.
A vision of a flushed Wolfram, writhing underneath him with his hands held above his head by his own, caused Yuuri to quickly drain his first wine glass and half of the second one. He did his best to push the thought out of his head, but the harder he tried, the more it treaded into even unsafer territory.
He tried thinking about playing baseball, and the scene shifted to him and Wolfram, in the same position, right smack on third base. It didn't help that what he suspected was the “home crowd” was filled with a set of cheering Muratas, while the “away crowd” had a bunch of booing Shouris.
He didn't even want to know what that latter thought implied, not when he was having such a huge problem with all of the former thoughts.
Yuuri thought that perhaps the wine was already taking effect, even though he didn't feel all that different from when he walked in. He wouldn't be surprised if the wine had a completely different reaction on his body than Earth alcohol. He once ate a Shin Makoku pear and spent three days utterly depressed.
After closing his eyes and breathing deeply for a minute, he managed to push that atrocious vision to the back of his mind. Yuuri wondered why he kept having such thoughts about Wolfram, of all people. It wasn't like Wolfram was a girl. He was a guy. That complicated things.
He opened his eyes, his vision focusing on Kord von Karbelnikoff. Yuuri thought about how his heart has raced when he had first laid eyes on him, back when he thought he was a she. He remembered how he had turned off all romantic feelings once he found out that beautiful being was another guy.
Wait a minute, turned off? He turned off his feelings? Yuuri scoffed at the idea. There was no way he could turn his feelings on and off like that. If he felt something for someone, he would openly feel it, right? He wouldn't repress what he felt for someone, would he?
Yuuri gasped loudly when his next thought answered that question with “unless it was another guy”. He emptied the second wine glass, ignoring the funny looks that people nearby were giving him.
It was too much to come to terms with, especially at that place and time. Realizing that he had been actively repressing any feelings he had for certain people due to their gender was like having to suddenly carry around a hundred extra pounds, and the sudden weight of his thoughts almost caused him to sink to the floor. His mind, unwilling to yield to his thought-suppressions anymore, rapidly went down the list of men that he had actively repressed himself from thinking about in certain ways. Men that he hadn't been confused into thinking were women, unlike Kord.
His father's best friend. His teacher from grade seven. His baseball teammate, Yoshida. The times he thought Günter might be the most lovely person in existence, watching with awe as he happily lectured him on the most mundane of things. Any time Conrad effortlessly used his sword against an enemy, pausing only to quickly wipe away the sweat that accumulated on his forehead. Murata, the times their often-naked bodies got squished together when leaving and returning to Earth. Gwendal, whenever he blushed or smiled or did anything other than glare at him.
And Wolfram, the only one of them where the feelings weren't fleeting, but constant. The only guy that he had repressed his feelings for, practically on a daily basis.
That first time he awakened to find Wolfram in bed with him, naked. The few times when Wolfram had actually come on to him. The occasions when Wolfram had pulled him closer to him in his sleep, his breath against his neck. Each and every of the times Wolfram had come to save him, even when his own personal cost was far higher than Yuuri's own.
He was still reeling over the thoughts and realizations when Wolfram finally entered the ballroom, date in tow.
The majority of people in the room were stunned when Wolfram von Bielefeld walked in on the arm of a tall brunet with gorgeous blue eyes - a man that seemed familiar and unfamiliar at the same time.
When Gwendal spotted Wolfram's date, he immediately noticed that it was the same man he had seen with his brother the last time there was a ball at Blood Pledge Castle. His mind ran through a list of noble families that the man could be related to, but drew a blank. Ultimately, he shrugged his shoulders and went back to the conversation he was holding with his other brother.
However, he found himself continuously turning from Conrart to Wolfram's date, unable to shake the feeling that he knew him from somewhere. There was something extremely familiar about the man to him, as if he knew the man very well.
After turning and staring for the umpteenth time, Gwendal turned back to his brother, about to ask if he knew the mystery man. But before he could open his mouth, he noted an almost expectant smirk on his face. He was about to ask him what it was about, but Wolfram's date suddenly twirled him around on the dance for, distracting him from his purpose.
He hadn't missed that his brother seemed almost tense when they had first started dancing, and raised his eyebrow at how Wolfram visibly relaxed in the man's arms after the twirl. He was about to turn once more back to Conrart when it suddenly hit him who the man was.
He groaned out loud, and buried his face in his palm. Conrart's snickering let him know that he was well-aware of who Wolfram's “date” was, and that expectant look from earlier was just him waiting to see how long before he figured it out.
Gwendal glared at Conrart. “Tell me you did not tell Wolfram what I did to get out of my own problem,” he grumbled.
“No, I didn't tell him. Wolfram thinks a lot like you, you know? This was his own idea with Yozak.”
Gwendal couldn't even get angry over the deception, not when he, Günter and Anissina had done something similar at a ball many years prior. Only, no one had dressed up as someone else. He had walked in with Anissina on one arm, and Günter on the other. The gesture spoke louder than words, and once the rumors spread only a few people had bothered pursuing him again. And, since he was used to murmured insults thanks to his mother's free-loving ways, he wasn't all that bothered by the comments about his “lifestyle”.
“Does he know you know that's Yozak?” Gwendal asked.
“Yes, he told Yozak to inform me,” Conrart responded.
“They aren't really together, are they?” Gwendal asked, remembering the rumors he had heard about them months prior. “I can't say I would have a problem with it, but if they are I don't see why Yozak should have bothered to disguise himself.”
“No, they aren't really together - though I suspect that Wolfram might have some sort of hero-worship going on for Yozak. This is just something they came up with to keep the vultures off of Wolfram tonight.”
“Since when are they in cahoots with each other...” Gwendal trailed off as he realized that, more likely than not, Yozak had probably had a hand in all of Wolfram's exploits in the Saralegui incident. He felt like a tool for how easily Yozak, and especially Wolfram, had played him throughout all of it.
“Tomorrow, I'm going to have a very long talk with the two of them,” he grumbled.
“If tomorrow comes. Something tells me this night is going to last forever.”
“What makes you say that?” he asked.
“Adelbert just lunged at Herschel.”
Gwendal looked up, and saw with dismay that Conrart was right. Günter was trying to restrain Adelbert, while pushing Herschel's arms away from his own body.
“Gwendal, it's been ages,” a familiar and falsely-sweet voice rang out behind him, freezing him in place. He turned around slowly, and was met with the superficial smile of Doris von Karbelnikoff.
A long night, indeed.
Author's note: This is the re-edited version of this chapter. Changed Conrad to Conrart when applicable, plus a few other grammatical changes. Next chapter: “Kelby Loring” plays it smooth.