The Heat of the Moment

Disclaimer- i do not own any of the characters of Kyo Kara Maoh

Chapter 14


The next day, Conrad and the others tried to get Yuuri to leave his room but the double black king refused to leave. Yuuri lay on the large bed either staring into space or crying. His thoughts and dreams were plagued with the hurt, hate and anger in the eyes of his son and Wolfram. All his wonderful plans for getting back together with the blonde beauty seemed to have gone up in smoke. Poof! In a blink of an eye, his dreams vanished as soon as Wolfram poured a bucket of ice cold reality over him. Wolfram hated him. His son hated him.

At the thought of his son, he smiled. His little Yuu was strong. Although it was his rage fueling his powers, Yuuri knew he could have defeated the boy at any time. The hole in his defense was so wide you could drive an eighteen-wheeler through it. But attacking and hurting his son was not what he wanted. Wolfram would have never forgiven him for hurting their son.

He sighed as he turned over onto his back staring up at the arched ceiling. "I'm such an idiot. What was I thinking?" He snorted derisively. He knew exactly what he was thinking. He was thinking that upon seeing him Wolfram would run into his arms and tell him how much he still loved him. His son would be happy to see his father and they would all live happily ever after. What a joke.

He got up and walked over to the window and looked out. He saw Corwyn and Conrad sitting in the garden talking while Josak played with the twins. He saw Celi, Eric and Murata talking. To the far left he saw Gunter, Gwendal and Derrick. The young man was showing them some sort of helmet that looked like a rabbit. Gwendal had stiffened as the man tried to put it on his head. Yuuri laughed as he watched his stoic general run like a frightened girl with Derrick close behind him. Oh yes, there was no mistake about it. Derrick was positively Anissina's cousin. No one but a von Karebelnikoff could make Gwendal run in terror.

The only person missing was Greta. He frowned as he wondered where his daughter disappeared to. Suddenly there was a knock on his door. He did not answer. He was hoping that whoever it was would leave. But unfortunately, like everything that happened in his life, nothing went his way. The knocking became persistent as the pest at the door continued to knock without stopping.

"ALL RIGHT!" yelled Yuuri as he walked over to the door and yanked it open. Standing there smiling was Greta. "Oh, it's you Greta." He opened the door wider and let her inside. "What is it?"

"Well, I came to see how you were doing?" she asked walking across the room and sitting on the bed.

Yuuri sighed and sat down beside her. "I'm as well as can be expected after being attacked by my nine-year-old son who just so happen to hate the ground I walk upon." He fell back onto the bed staring up at the ceiling. "This is not what I envisioned when I came here."

Greta stared at her father incredulously. "This is exactly what I expected. Although, I envisioned Wolfram torching you on sight." She smirked. "Did you really think he would just swoon into your arms after everything that the two of you went through?"

"Well," he said sheepishly as he scratched the side of his nose.

"I love you dearly father and I would do anything for you. But, you are an idiot," said Greta.

"I know. I know. I'm an idiot and a wimp. But I just don't think it's fair that everyone blames me for this. I did not force him to runaway." He sighed. "I mean. Whether anyone likes it or not, that was the culture I grew up in. A person can't change their views and beliefs over night."

"I guess everyone has been coming down hard on you about that." She laid back beside him.

"Yeah. Well, not everyone. Conrad had lived on Earth for a while before he returned to Shin Makoku so he knows about the people and their phobias concerning male/male relationships. Gwendal, I think he's just angry because Wolfram is his baby brother and as you know, a big brother will defend his younger siblings. As for lady Celi, I have no ideal what she thinks about this. I think she just want us both to be happy whether it's together or with someone else." Then he turned his head to stare at the side profile of his daughter. "What about you Greta? You never said how you felt about everything that happened from the time Wolfram left."

Greta sighed as she continued to stare at the ceiling. "Well, Wolfram is way older than you so he should take the blame for his own decision to leave without saying anything. I'm not angry at you if that's what you think." She turned her head to face him. "The fact of the matter is, I was never angry with you or Wolfram. You come from a world that thinks itself is morally right and anything out of the norm is considered bad or wrong."

"That's right," said Yuuri sitting up on his elbows staring down into the face of his daughter. "I kept telling Wolfram that but he just seemed to block out everything I was trying to tell him. I mean, whether he or anyone liked it, that is the culture I came from. I can't snap my fingers and all of a sudden I was okay with that sort of relationship."

Greta said nothing as she just shrugged her shoulders. Yuuri laid back down beside her. "You know. I don't think they are angry with you because you believed that same gender relationships were wrong. Well, maybe they are just a little. Personally, I blame both of you."

"And how do you figure that?"

"Well, Wolfram is loud, rude, and a jealous person that had a narrow-minded point of view. He kept trying to get you to marry him when you were obviously too young. Even by demon standards, you were still considered as a child. According to Gunter's teaching, you were and still are the youngest king Shin Makoku has ever had. Not only did you have your own problems but you had to deal with the problems of your kingdom and the entire world. That is a lot of stress to put on the shoulders of a child. And to top it off, you had an angry, jealous fiance that was trying to force you into marriage."

"That’s what I’m talking about. You're the only one to see things my way. Except for Melinda but she doesn't count."

"But, at the same time you didn't take Wolfram's feelings into consideration. No listen," she said when Yuuri looked as though he was about to say something. "I understand that the world that you come from thinks same gender relationships are morally wrong. I mean here you are, a stranger in a strange land and you're trying to learn the customs of another world and it is difficult. Believe me, I know how mind-bending it is to learn the history of another people. But you should have taken in the fact that Wolfram was raised with his own beliefs as well." She raised a hand and placed it on his lips silencing him.

"Also, Wolfram should have tried to understand that you cannot force a person to change his beliefs over a short amount of time. Granted, you were here for two years before you returned to Earth. But two years is nothing compared to fifteen years of a belief ingrained into your very being. It would take time to overcome such prejudices."

"Hey, I’m not prejudice," Yuuri said sulking.

"I never once said you were. I said your beliefs were prejudice. There’s a difference. Do you understand what I’m trying to say?"

"I think I understand."

"I wonder if you do." Greta smiled at her father.

"Yes I do. Neither of us considered the other's feelings." Then he gave her his patent goofy Yuuri Shibuya smile. "To put it in idiot terms, just as Wolfram was trying to push his beliefs on me, I was trying to push mine on him. And because I was king, I expected him to agree without arguing."

"Well I'll be a Sand Bear's uncle. You do understand." She kissed him on the cheek. "Besides, you still have a chance to win him back."

"What do you mean?" he raised himself upon his elbows.

Greta rolled her eyes and shook her head smiling at her absentminded father. "You proposed to wolfram again and then you bound him to you so he could never be able to call off the engagement."

Yuuri slapped his forehead with one of his hands and fell back onto the bed. "I am an idiot."

"This time you can do it right."

"How is that?"

"Well, you went from being strangers to fiances in one night. The two of you never got to really know each other," said Greta.

Yuuri frowned as he thought about what his daughter said. She was right. They really didn't know anything about each other. Even now, he doesn’t know anything about Wolfram. The only information he got came from his family. 'But I want to know everything about him. Who is wolfram von Bielefeld? What’s his favorite color and his favorite dessert? Is he ticklish?' He smiled as he remembered the blonde's sleeping habits. "Well one thing I know for sure about Wolfram is that he's a terrible sleeper and he snores, really loud." The two of them burst out laughing. He turned to face his daughter and smiled. "Thank you Greta for understanding."

"It was no problem. Besides, I understand." She smiled back at him. "It was not easy for me to learn the customs of the demon tribe as well. Actually thanks to Gunter, he taught me several greetings and customs of other human nations. I know it's weird that I didn't know any human customs but my uncle and aunt felt I wasn't worth going through all that trouble for." Then she sat up. "Now, if you're going to win the heart of your fiance back you should hurry up and get ready."

"Why?" he asked sitting up as well.

"That's right. You've been locked up in here mourning all day. Gunnar von Christ, Gunter's cousin, returned a few hours after you locked yourself in this room. He and Gunter have put together a party to introduce us to the other demon and human aristocrats. Gunnar said everyone will be invited, including Wolfram."

Yuuri became very excited at hearing that. "You're right. I have to be on my best behavior."

"But you will have a chance to meet him before the party." She scratched the side of her nose. "That is if he changes his mind and invites you."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, this morning everyone received an invitation to Dominique's birthday party at the end of the week."

"You said, everyone," Yuuri said hopefully.

"I'm sorry poppa but . . ."

"I was not invited." The dark hair monarch turned away sadly from her pitying stare. Her silence was his answer. He sighed. "Well, a small part of me was hoping that Wolfram would simply come back with me but a big big part of me knew that I would have to work hard to get my family back. Well, I guess the first thing to do is get Dominique a present and send it by you. It's all I can do until he agrees to see me."

"Remember poppa, the two of you are strangers. You are going to have to start over from the beginning. So, that means you can't walk up to him and blurt out that you love him." Her stare turned into an icy glare. "You do love him, right?"

Yuuri smiled as he thought about his Wolfram. "Yes, I love him more than anything in the world. All those years with him gone, I had time to think and I realized that Wolfram was right all along. I was an idiot and wimp." He sighed. "To think for the past thirteen years we could have been happy and Dominique could have been my daughter."

Greta placed her hand on top of his squeezing it gently. "She still can be your daughter. You just have to give Wolfram some time. And since you bound him to you, you have all the time in the world to win him back."

Yuuri smiled at his daughter and kissed her on the cheek. "How did you become so smart?"

"I was raised by the greatest father in the world." She hugged him and wrapped her arms around his. "Now, come on outside. You have spent way too much time in this room."

xxxxx

It was late in the evening when Greta led Yuuri out to the garden. They were talking to Eric about wanting to see the rest of Americus when one of Corwyn's guard rushed up to the commander. He leaned down and whispered into Corwyn's ear. The black hair man groaned as he told the guard to return to his post.

"Is something wrong?" asked Conrad frowning.

Corwyn sighed. "It usually is when he comes. Excuse me." He got up and went to talk with Eric. "Your majesty."

"What is it Corwyn?" asked Eric.

"Sire. Count Drakko and his chevaliers are here."

"Oh no," groan Eric shaking his head. "Can this day get any worse?"

"I don't think so. Not unless, Yuu comes back seeking a rematch with his father," said Corwyn smiling sympathetically to his king.

"Is something wrong?" asked Yuuri looking at his silver hair counterpart frowning. He did not like what Corwyn had said about his son coming back to attack him again. Although, he couldn't really blame the other man for saying that. Hell, the same thought had gone through his mind when he saw that stiff look on Corwyn's face.

"You have no idea," Eric whispered loud enough for only Corwyn to hear. "Well . . . " before he could say anything Derrick ran from around the corner in a panic.

"Eric! You'll never guess who's here?" Derrick said panting.

"Count Drakko."

Derrick stared up at his friend. "How did you know?"

"The guard came and told me," said Corwyn.

"Oh, right. Anyway, you know why he is here." The red hair man looked at the double black king."

"Why are you staring at me like that?" asked Yuuri frowning. Something was up and he was having a bad feeling about it. "And who is this Count Drakko?"

"Trouble with a capital T," said Derrick. "And one of Wolfram's suitors."

"What suitors?" Yuuri glared at the young man.

"The details are too complicated," said Eric massaging his temples trying to stop his headache before it began. "Just know that up until about six years ago, every kingdom here has been on bad terms with Drakko and his people."

"What sort of bad terms?" asked Murata.

"It's a long story," said Corwyn. "We will tell you about it later, but for now shouldn't you be going to greet your guests, your majesty."

The silver hair demon groaned as he excused himself along with Corwyn.

"Derrick, what did you mean by suitors?" Yuuri demanded.

The red hair man sighed as he watched his friends disappear inside the castle and then turned to face Yuuri. "I mean that about a year after Ellis' death. Count Drakko was the first of many suitors that came to court Wolfram. As the weeks progressed, the number of suitors dwindled until only Drakko remained. We believe that Drakko got to them some how and scared them off."

"Surly, he can't be that intimidating," said Gwendal frowning. He was not liking how this was sounding. 'Wolfram, what have you gotten yourself mixed up with now.'


"You have no ideal," said Derrick arching a red brow. "I know that snake must have sensed something."

"You can't leave us in the dark," said Conrad. "If our brother is in danger from this man, we have a right to know."

"Everything will be explained to you later." He raised a hand to silence them when they would have spoken. "Come. Dinner will be ready soon. You should clean up and prepare to meet the vampires of Dragoon."

"Vampire!" Murata said shocked.

xxxxx

Later that night at dinner, the conversations were lite but Yuuri couldn't help his thoughts returning to a certain blonde demon prince. He began to wonder what he and Yuu were doing. 'Probably sitting down to dinner talking and laughing and becoming closer than ever, while I'm sitting here half listening to a group of freaky vampires and picking over my food missing out on all the fun of having a child.' He loved Greta dearly but there was just something special about the bonding of a father to his son. He felt his heart break at all the times he and Yuu could have been playing baseball together. Yuuri sighed depressingly. 'Yuu won't even acknowledge my existence as his real father and Wolfram wants nothing to do with me." He was beginning to wonder if maybe Wolfram was right. Maybe he should go back to Shin Makoku.

He took a bite of food but it tasted like cardboard. The wine tasted like water. He looked up as someone, he didn't know, he guessed it was one of the vampires, asked him something and he answered with a weak yes and went back to picking over his food. His thoughts went back to his problem. Should he just leave or stay and win back his family. 'Leaving would be the cowardly thing to do and it would make Wolfram think even worse of me." He tightened his grip on his knife. 'What am I thinking? I have bound Wolfram to me which means no one but I can have him. No, I will not leave. I am going to prove to both of them that I love them and that I want to make up for all the heartache I caused. And make up for all the time I lost with Yuu. When I do leave, I am taking my family with me.'

"Yuuri. Yuuri," said Conrad.

The black hair monarch snapped out of his thoughts to stare at his godfather. "Yes."

"Is something wrong?" The brown hair knight frowned at his young king. "You were deep in thought."

"It's nothing," said Yuuri smiling.

"Now that his majesty is back among reality," said Count Drakko smiling at Yuuri. "I have a question."

Yuuri nodded his head giving him permission to ask.

"Why do you allow your servants to call you by your name?" The count raised the crystal glass to his lips and took a sip. "It is quite unbecoming of a king to let his servants address him as such."

Yuuri did not like this guy at all. "Well, if you must know, I let Conrad call me by my name because he is my godfather. As for others, I think it makes people feel more relaxed and they can speak to me about whatever is bothering them. But if they are more at ease addressing me as 'your majesty' I will not stop them."

"I see," said Nikolas smiling. "You are quite the friendly king. While others have gained respect in battle or showing how strict they are, you gain respect with a smile."

"How quaint." Gustav sneered.

Yuuri gritted his teeth. He really really was beginning to not like these guys. It just crawled under his skin that Wolfram has to deal with these people at all.

"Lady Cecilie, you must be proud of your son," said Drakko.

"I've always been proud of my Wolfie," said Cecilie cheerful.

"But you must be extra proud of him," said Nikolas. "Not only did he start a new life for himself after having his heart ripped to shreds by some careless cad, he also raised his children to be strong with the help of his late husband."

Yuuri's hand tightened around the knife he held in his hand at the mention of Wolfram's husband. It’s not that he hated Ellis. It was more like he was jealous of the love Wolfram had so willingly lavished on the other man.

"Yes, I must admit. Ellis may have been a human but he just loved Yuu to death. It was as though the boy was his flesh and blood," said Sigfrid.

"True. You won't find many men who would be willing to raise someone else's son but Ellis truly was a great human," said Siegmund glancing at Yuuri from the corner of his eye.

"I wonder who this buffoon was that so thoughtlessly tore Wolfram's heart out," said Drakko. "A person like that should be beaten for ever causing such a beautiful flower as Wolfram any pain." Then he turned to Yuuri. "What say you, your majesty? Surely you must know who this thoughtless monster is and you have dealt with him accordingly for hurting Wolfram." He took another sip of his wine as he watched Yuuri.

"Such a cowardly man should not speak his name," said Gustav. The count and his chevaliers watched the anger grow across Yuuri's face. "Well, at least lord von Bielefeld has nothing to worry about."

"What do you mean?" asked Gwendal frowning.

"Lord von Bielefeld has been without a husband for a little over two years now," said Drakko. "I had wanted to ask him something of great importance a year ago but I felt it wasn’t quite appropriate."

"Not appropriate to ask him what?" asked Conrad.

"To get married," said Sigfrid.

Everyone stared in shock at the smiling Drakko.

Yuuri felt his anger flare to life as he stared into the smug face of this man that was trying to come between Wolfram and himself. ‘How dare that freak think he can just take my Wolfram away from me. Well, it’s not going to happen. Hell will freeze over before I let anyone take my beloved away from me again.’ Yuuri wanted so much to slap that smug look off that bastard's face but he had to calm himself because a slap is how he became engaged in the first place. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath letting his rage cool down. Once he was calm, he opened his eyes and stared into the count's crimson eyes. "That was kind of you but not necessary."

"Oh, why is that?" asked Gustav.

"Because I have already formally proposed to Wolfram and bound him to me," said Yuuri with a slight smirk on his face. "So, you can just look somewhere else for a mate." ‘Take that you smug, arrogant, pompous jack ass.’

"No, I don't think so," said Drakko raising his glass for the servant to pour him more wine in his glass.

Yuuri glared ferally at the count.

"Oh, and why is that?" asked Murata.

"Tell me, when you proposed to lord von Bielefeld was it in your custom from Shin Makoku?" asked Gustav.

"Yes of course," said Gunter. "And it was quite romantic."

"You didn't tell them did you Eric," said Sigfrid smiling at the silver hair demon king. "How sweet, you wanted to save your new friend from looking like a fool."

"What are they talking about, Eric?" asked Yuuri. Something wasn't right. He did not like the way Drakko kept smiling at him as though he knew some secret.

Eric sighed and placed his utensils on the table. He removed his glasses and began to clean them with his napkin. "Wolfram told me that he had no intentions of ever returning to Shin Makoku." He put his glasses back on his nose. "Although he was Carolia's ambassador, a year after he came to stay here, he took an oath of citizenship to Americus."

Everyone gasped as they stared at the king in shock.

"Wolfram is no longer a citizen of Shin Makoku but a citizen of Americus." Eric stared in sympathy at his new friend.

"I don't . . . understand." Yuuri was in a daze as he felt his heart sink into the pit of his stomach. He had an inkling of what Eric was saying but he had to hear it straight from his silver hair counterpart's mouth.

Eric really didn't want to be doing this but he has no choice. Just as he was to tell him, Corwyn decided to save his king and friend from having to deliver the bad news to the young demon king of Shin Makoku.

"What it means is that Wolfram is now bound by our laws," said the dark hair commander. "Which means . . ."

"Which means," said Drakko cutting Corwyn off, "your proposal is null. and. void."