Just Like the First Time, KKM
Title: Just Like the First Time
Author: elsie21
Fandom: Kyou Kara Maou
Characters/pairing: Yuuri/Wolfram
Warnings: Major spoilers for the last episode and creative (but not too creative) interpretation of the two seconds following the last episode ;)
It didn't hurt as much as he thought it would.
That wasn't quite true; to be perfectly honest the only way he'd been functioning was to set aside the feelings of grief to be dealt with later. He'd had little time to make the decision, wavering between his duties to his family on earth and those who had become like family in Shin Makoku. He hesitated, unsure what to do, with Murata and Shouri on one side of him and those he'd grown to care deeply for standing around waiting.
When Wolfram ordered him to go, it felt like a death sentence, and yet he was relieved not to have to make the decision himself. If Wolfram of all people wanted him to go, then there really was no choice at all.
For that he was grateful.
They'd had little time, so farewells were brief, and Yuuri was sure they were all far braver than he was for accepting it so graciously. The saddest part is that he even as he spoke his own parting words, part of his mind was disengaged, already back on earth and not here where his heart was replaced with a vast emptiness.
He'd turned to go, and Wolfram had cried out his name, his voice full of more emotion than Yuuri had ever heard from him, and it had made his shoulders tense and his footsteps pause. He was no longer grateful that Wolfram had made the decision for him, because it was obvious that it was made at great personal cost.
It made him feel guilty, far more guilty than abandoning his role as the maou, even though he'd done what they'd summoned him there for, in his own way and, in his opinion, with far greater results. It was hard enough leaving without hearing the hitch in Wolfram's voice.
Yuuri hated him just a little for that, especially when he heard the answering waver in his own voice when he bid them goodbye.
Waking up the next day had brought with it a sense of subdued dread, and he'd dressed for school automatically. When he smiled it felt like his face might crack, and the selfish part of him resented the Original King for having him brought to Shin Makoku in the first place.
Mainly, though, he resented him for leaving him with no way to get back.
Seeing his mother again had helped make up for it, and when he saw her eyes light up after they'd returned, he knew Wolfram had been right. He'd never have forgiven himself if he'd chosen to stay there. He let her hug him tightly and although it did little to fill the hole in his heart, as long as he was enfolded in her warm embrace he didn't feel quite so numb anymore.
Not surprisingly, he ran into Murata again, and while part of him wanted to never see the reincarnated sage again, the other, much larger, part, ached to talk to someone who knew what he'd given up.
It had been surreal, talking to him again, knowing that they'd formed a friendship that would last the rest of their days, two teenagers with far more in common than Yuuri had ever expected. It had always been Murata with him when he'd passed between the worlds. Being with him now, remembering all they'd been through together and knowing that those days were over, was bittersweet.
When Murata had pushed him into the pond, Yuuri had been shocked, but not as much as when he'd found himself surrounded by familiar faces, all of them looking equally pole-axed.
He'd been afraid to blink, fearful that to do so would remove what had to be a hallucination. He could hear Murata behind him, and for all he knew maybe there was something in that soda he'd had to drink.
He wasn't quite convinced it was real when he asked Murata what had happened, and even listening to the explanation, it wasn't until Gwendal spoke that he was willing to believe it was real. Günter said something, too, but his words were lost on Yuuri the moment he heard the faint splash of water as a pair of brown boots stepped into the fountain. He'd not realized everything had been hazy and unfocused until he looked up.
Yuuri felt an overpowering sense of déjà vu. The first time he'd laid eyes on Wolfram, he'd been thrown from a horse, sprawled in the dirt. His eyes had made the same path back then that they did now, from the tops of the boots to the vivid blue jacket, over the immaculate cravat, and ending when his gaze reached Wolfram's face.
That first day Wolfram had looked down at him in disbelief, and of all the emotions visible on Wolfram's face right now, Yuuri recognized the same unblinking fear he'd felt moments ago.
It seemed the most natural thing in the world, either world, for Wolfram to get down on one knee, and Yuuri couldn't breathe as Wolfram stared at him intently. Of course it was far more natural for Wolfram to attack him and accuse him of things he was completely innocent of, and despite his protests, Yuuri couldn't have imagined a better welcome home.
When he and Wolfram froze, Yuuri looked around at everyone and could not repress the biggest grin of his life as he told them, "I'm back!"
He couldn't resist sliding his gaze over to Wolfram for just a moment and his smile grew even wider.
It was the best feeling in the world, to be back. Home.
Author: elsie21
Fandom: Kyou Kara Maou
Characters/pairing: Yuuri/Wolfram
Warnings: Major spoilers for the last episode and creative (but not too creative) interpretation of the two seconds following the last episode ;)
It didn't hurt as much as he thought it would.
That wasn't quite true; to be perfectly honest the only way he'd been functioning was to set aside the feelings of grief to be dealt with later. He'd had little time to make the decision, wavering between his duties to his family on earth and those who had become like family in Shin Makoku. He hesitated, unsure what to do, with Murata and Shouri on one side of him and those he'd grown to care deeply for standing around waiting.
When Wolfram ordered him to go, it felt like a death sentence, and yet he was relieved not to have to make the decision himself. If Wolfram of all people wanted him to go, then there really was no choice at all.
For that he was grateful.
They'd had little time, so farewells were brief, and Yuuri was sure they were all far braver than he was for accepting it so graciously. The saddest part is that he even as he spoke his own parting words, part of his mind was disengaged, already back on earth and not here where his heart was replaced with a vast emptiness.
He'd turned to go, and Wolfram had cried out his name, his voice full of more emotion than Yuuri had ever heard from him, and it had made his shoulders tense and his footsteps pause. He was no longer grateful that Wolfram had made the decision for him, because it was obvious that it was made at great personal cost.
It made him feel guilty, far more guilty than abandoning his role as the maou, even though he'd done what they'd summoned him there for, in his own way and, in his opinion, with far greater results. It was hard enough leaving without hearing the hitch in Wolfram's voice.
Yuuri hated him just a little for that, especially when he heard the answering waver in his own voice when he bid them goodbye.
Waking up the next day had brought with it a sense of subdued dread, and he'd dressed for school automatically. When he smiled it felt like his face might crack, and the selfish part of him resented the Original King for having him brought to Shin Makoku in the first place.
Mainly, though, he resented him for leaving him with no way to get back.
Seeing his mother again had helped make up for it, and when he saw her eyes light up after they'd returned, he knew Wolfram had been right. He'd never have forgiven himself if he'd chosen to stay there. He let her hug him tightly and although it did little to fill the hole in his heart, as long as he was enfolded in her warm embrace he didn't feel quite so numb anymore.
Not surprisingly, he ran into Murata again, and while part of him wanted to never see the reincarnated sage again, the other, much larger, part, ached to talk to someone who knew what he'd given up.
It had been surreal, talking to him again, knowing that they'd formed a friendship that would last the rest of their days, two teenagers with far more in common than Yuuri had ever expected. It had always been Murata with him when he'd passed between the worlds. Being with him now, remembering all they'd been through together and knowing that those days were over, was bittersweet.
When Murata had pushed him into the pond, Yuuri had been shocked, but not as much as when he'd found himself surrounded by familiar faces, all of them looking equally pole-axed.
He'd been afraid to blink, fearful that to do so would remove what had to be a hallucination. He could hear Murata behind him, and for all he knew maybe there was something in that soda he'd had to drink.
He wasn't quite convinced it was real when he asked Murata what had happened, and even listening to the explanation, it wasn't until Gwendal spoke that he was willing to believe it was real. Günter said something, too, but his words were lost on Yuuri the moment he heard the faint splash of water as a pair of brown boots stepped into the fountain. He'd not realized everything had been hazy and unfocused until he looked up.
Yuuri felt an overpowering sense of déjà vu. The first time he'd laid eyes on Wolfram, he'd been thrown from a horse, sprawled in the dirt. His eyes had made the same path back then that they did now, from the tops of the boots to the vivid blue jacket, over the immaculate cravat, and ending when his gaze reached Wolfram's face.
That first day Wolfram had looked down at him in disbelief, and of all the emotions visible on Wolfram's face right now, Yuuri recognized the same unblinking fear he'd felt moments ago.
It seemed the most natural thing in the world, either world, for Wolfram to get down on one knee, and Yuuri couldn't breathe as Wolfram stared at him intently. Of course it was far more natural for Wolfram to attack him and accuse him of things he was completely innocent of, and despite his protests, Yuuri couldn't have imagined a better welcome home.
When he and Wolfram froze, Yuuri looked around at everyone and could not repress the biggest grin of his life as he told them, "I'm back!"
He couldn't resist sliding his gaze over to Wolfram for just a moment and his smile grew even wider.
It was the best feeling in the world, to be back. Home.