The Heat of the Moment

Disclaimer-I do not own any of the characters from Kyo Kara Moah and neither
do i make any money from this story.



Chapter 22

Yuuri was in his office with Gwendal, Gunter and their infant son, Alexander von Voltair. The baby was sound asleep in the arms of his father. Gunter lovingly stroked the silky, gray black strands on the infant's head. Gwendal split his attention in getting Yuuri to sign the stack of documents to watching his son sleep in the arms of his husband.

Out of the corner of his eye, Yuuri could see a loving smile spread across the face of the elder demon. He could not believe the change in the stoic man since his son was born over two months ago. Gwendal does not want his family out of his eye sight which is why they were in Yuuri's office. Also, he smiles a lot now although his smiles are only seen by the immediate family. While everyone else gets his stern glare when angered. The nursery is filled from top to bottom with stuffed animals knitted by the proud father. And even now, his knitting equipment was on the sofa next to Gunter with a half-finished blanket sticking out of the wicker basket.

Yuuri sighed longingly at the happy couple. Soon, he and Wolfram will be happy and hopefully there will be more children in their future. He decided that he would take Wolfram, Yuu and Dominique to meet his mother. He was sure his mother will love Dominique to death. He can just imagine the two going shopping and returning home with several bags of little outfits for a girl. The picture made him smile as he also thought about taking Yuu to his first baseball game.

His happy thoughts were interrupted by Gwendal's voice. He stared at the frowning face and quickly remembered that he still had a ton of work to do. Signing his name he moved that paper out of the way as Gwendal placed another one in front of him. He sighed heavily and signed his name.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door. Yuuri sighed in relief massaging the cramps out of his stiff fingers.

"Enter," barked Gwendal at being interrupted.

One of the guards from the front gate walked into the room and bowed. "I'm sorry for the interruption, Majesty but there is a child at the front gate wanting to see you."

"A child," said Yuuri frowning in thought. "Did he say who he was and what he wanted?"

"Well," the guard said looking a bit nervous.

"Well what," snapped Gunter softly so as not to awaken his son. "Come on, out with it man."

"Well, he claims that he is His Majesty's son."

Yuuri stared at the guard as though he was a ghost. "You don't think that it's . . . " He looked up into the frowning stoic face of his advisor.

"Bring the boy here," said Gwendal. "And if you see Conrad inform him that he is needed in His Majesty's office."

"Yes your Excellency." The guard turned and walked out.

‘Could it be Yuu?’ Yuuri slowly stood upon his feet and began to walk back and forth in front of his desk. ‘No, it can’t be. Wolfram would have told me if he had found our son.’

There was a knock on the door and Yuuri froze in mid-step as he stared at the door. His heart pounded against his chest as he thought that the guard had returned with this boy that says he is Yuuri's son. As the door opened, Yuuri exhaled the breath he did not know he was holding as Conrad stuck his head inside the room.

"You wanted to see me?" Conrad asked frowning seeing the look of disappointment on Yuuri's face.

"Yes," said Gwendal beckoning for his brother to come in. "There is a boy at the front gate claiming that he is His Majesty’s son."

"Yuu?" Conrad looked at his godson as he walked into the room to stand on the other side of Yuuri. Yuuri nervously began wringing his hands. "Are you sure it's him?"

"The guard has gone to bring him. We will see soon enough." The elder demon stared at his young king out of the corner of his eye.

A few minutes later there was another knock at the door. Yuuri stiffened as he stood up straight facing the door. "Come in!" yelled Yuuri. As the door opened, Yuuri felt his heart ram against his chest as Yuu stood in the doorway with the guard.

Yuuri didn't know what to do. He wanted to run up to his son and hug the boy but he knew Yuu would not appreciate him taking such liberties. So he settled for a warm smile. "Welcome to Shin Makoku, Yuu."

"Thank you," Yuu said tightly remembering what Count Drakko had told him.

"I'm surprised to see you here," said Yuuri. "I didn't think you would ever want to see me." He smiled. "Does Wolfram know you're here?"

"No. I came directly here after my seclusion," said the boy.

"Why?" asked Conrad.

"I thought long and hard about everything that happened since you arrived on the shores of Americus. And I have come to the realization that what that friend with the glasses said was true." He looked up at his father. "I can hate you until the end of time but the fact remains that you are and forever will be my father. And no amount of wishing otherwise will change it." Then he sighed shrugging his shoulders. "Besides there must have been something father saw in you in order for him to give his heart to you." The boy cleared his throat looking at the floor. "And I guess . . . I should . . . at least try to get to know you," he grumbled in a small voice but Yuuri and the others heard him, and smiled.

"But I still don't like you."

"I know," said Yuuri.

"So . . . so don't go thinking I'm going to be calling you daddy or something like that anytime soon."

"Knowing that you are willing to accept me is good enough for me." Yuuri knelt before his son opening his arms. "May I?"

Yuu arched a brow biting the inside of his jaw. He slowly nodded his head and stepped forward. Yuuri took his son into his arms and held him tight. Yuu didn't understand why he felt so at odds with his feelings. Part of him wanted to cringe in disgust and push away from Yuuri while another part of him felt a comforting warmth spread throughout his body. He wanted to lay his head on his father's shoulder and continue to let Yuuri hold him. For some odd reason, he felt contented in the soothing embrace of his other parent. But that was not why he was here. He was here to destroy his father. He had to get away before the plan was ruined. Yuu quickly pulled himself out of the embrace and took a step back as he stared at the young man confused.

"So are you going to show me around this place?"

Yuuri was hurt at the abrupt way Yuu had pulled away from him but there was hope that in time the boy would not push him away. "Of course but first we should send a letter to Wolfram letting him know you are here," said Yuuri.

"We'll do it," said Conrad.

"That's very kind of you to do but I had sent a letter to my father before I left Americus explaining everything to him," said Yuu. "Besides, I'm sure he is glad I am here trying to get to know my other parent."

"That is good to hear," said Gunter. "I'm sure in time you will see how truly wonderful your father is."

‘Not in this life time. Once I’m through with him there will be nothing left of him but an emotional pile of flesh.’ Yuu smiled inwardly.

"Since you're here, let me introduce you to your cousin, Alexander," said Gwendal.

Yuu walked over to his cousin and stared at the tiny infant. He smiled as he remembered when his sister was born. He gently glided one finger over the soft tiny knuckles of the baby. "Well, maybe I will see you when you are awake Alexander." He stepped away smiling at his uncle and his husband. "Congratulations."

"Thank you," said Gunter.

Yuuri walked up to the door and opened it. "Come on, I'll give you a grand tour of the whole castle and introduce you to everyone." He smiled. "Greta isn't here. She is visiting her friend Beatrice in Cavalcade. She should be back later tonight."

The boy walked out of the room followed by Yuuri. He immediately began showing the boy around. He introduced him to the three maids, Sangria, Lasagna, and Doria. The three women chattered excitedly at meeting the little prince. Yuu only rolled his eyes. Once he answered all their questions, Yuuri was finally able to continue the tour.

xxxxx

After showing Yuu the inside of the castle, he led his son outside into the garden. It was truly a sight to behold. The garden was alive with colors. "Your grandmother cultivated some of these plants," said Yuuri walking through the garden with his son beside him. "She created three flowers and named them after each of her sons."

"What was my father's flower called?" he asked curiously.

"She called them 'Beautiful Wolfram.'" Yuuri's gaze became dreamy as he thought about his own beautiful Wolfram back in Americus. They came to a stop underneath a large oak tree and the ground beneath the tree was littered with gorgeous yellow flowers. Yuuri leaned down cradling the flower in his hand. "This is the flower your grandmother named after your father."

Yuu looked at the flowers and thought they were quite beautiful. Yes, the flower complimented his father perfectly. He leaned down and inhaled the sweet lite scent. Yuu quickly stood up as he stared at the plant.

"What's wrong?" asked Yuuri.

"The flower. It smells just like my father."

Yuuri smiled. "I know. That is why I have several of them planted near my window. I want to be reminded of him when I wake in the morning and when I go to be at night."

Yuu wanted to rant and rage and call him a liar. How dare he say such a thing when Yuuri always made it known that Wolfram was disgusting and that he didn't want Wolfram around him. But he held his tongue. It was not quite time yet but soon. A short while later the two double blacks were in the stable.

"This is my horse, Aoi." Yuuri scratched the horse behind the ear. "Here you go. Give him this." He placed a sugar cube in Yuu's hand.

Yuu hesitantly held his palm out with the sugar treat resting in the center of his palm. Aoi lowered his head taking the cube into his mouth. Yuu smiled as he stroked the space between the horse's eyes.

"So, did you bring any clothes with you?" asked Yuuri staring at the plain white shirt and brown pants he was wearing.

"No. I went straight to the docks and boarded a ship that was on its way to Carolia," said Yuu shrugging his shoulders.

"I was meaning to ask. How did you get here?" Yuuri watched the boy as he began to stroke Aoi's silky mane. "You already said you went directly to the dock and then sent Wolfram a letter telling him where you would be. Which means you had no money to pay for passage."

"Captain Huron is a friend of both my fathers. He waived the fee for passage and said he would be happy to drop me off here before going on to Carolia."

Yuuri felt a twinge of jealousy and hurt as his son still referred to Ellis as his other father. He shook his head pushing away the gloomy feeling that was threatening to consume him. Yuuri stared down at his son combing his fingers through the boy's silky black strands and smiled.

"Well, we could go into the village and buy you some new clothes. And while we're there I can give you a tour."

Yuu thought about it for a second and nodded his head.

The smile on Yuuri's face brightened as he led the boy out of the stable. They were heading toward the main gate when Conrad ran toward them.

"Your Majesty, where are you and Yuu going?"

"Conrad, we have known each other for a long time and I still find it annoying that you keep calling me by my title. You are the one that named me; so I wish you would use my name."

The older man just smiled saying, "Very well, Your Majesty."

Yuuri just rolled his eyes exasperatedly raising his hands in defeat.

"Now, are you two going somewhere?"

"Yes, we're going to the village to purchase Yuu some clothes and I'm going to show him around," said Yuuri standing behind his son placing a hand on each shoulder.

Yuu had to will himself not to flinch at the touch of his father's hands upon him.

"Well, that's not a good ideal, Your Majesty. Besides, there are some of Wolfram's old clothes up in the attic."

"Really?" the boy asked excited. "Can I really use my father's old clothes?"

"Of course. They're just going to waste sitting up there. They will have to be cleaned but I'm sure Wolfram would not mind you wearing them," said Conrad.

"Wow, thank you uncle Conrad."

Conrad's smile spread across his face as he could see the joy in the boy's eyes at the ideal of going through his father's old clothes. Yuuri however, did not look too happy at the idea. He wanted to spend some time with his son getting to know him, and letting Yuu get to know him as well.

"Are you sure," said Yuuri hoping to change the boy's mind. "We could go into the town and you can get new clothes and whatever else you want."

"Why go buy clothes when there are perfectly good ones up in the attic gathering dust," said the boy turning to face Yuuri.

"Okay." Yuuri did not sound too enthusiastic as he lowered his head.

Yuu had to do something or the wimp would probably start to cry. The boy silently sighed as he began to grind his teeth at what he had to do next. So, taking Yuuri by the hand, he pulled on his father's hand. "Come on, I want to see what father use to wear when he was a kid." He dragged Yuuri back into the castle. The contact of his hand in that of his father's hand was making his skin crawl but he had to fight down that feeling. He could do nothing that would ruin his plan.

xxxxx

As Yuuri and Yuu went up to the attic. They searched through several trunks until they came upon a few wooden trunks with Wolfram's name engraved onto the tops. With the help of several of the palace guards, Yuuri ordered the men to carry the trunks downstairs to Wolfram's old room. Yuuri thanked the men and closed the door behind them.

When Yuuri turned around, Yuu was exploring the room. There were several canvas in the corner that had large pices of cloth covering them. Yuu walked over to the canvas and peeked under the cloths. One painting was of a Bear Bee and another was of a Sand Bear. There was a painting on an easel and he removed the cloth. He frowned at the picture and looked to Yuuri for help. Yuuri walked over to his son looking at the painting. He groaned.

"What is it?" asked Yuu.

"That's a painting of me," said Yuuri looking at the awful abstract painting of him.

Yuu pointing at the portrait in disbelief. "You mean my father did that monstrosity."

"Yes but I wouldn't tell him that if I was you." Yuuri pulled the cloth back over the painting. "He was quite proud of his painting of me. He nearly burned the hair off my head when I said it looked like something a dragon spit up."

Yuu shook his head and walked away from the painting. "Well, I can honestly tell you that he has gotten much much better since he's been in Americus." The boy opened the closet and found several blue uniforms and several pairs of shiny black boots.

"This use to be Wolfram's old room," said Yuuri. The boy stared at him in shock. "I hope you don't mind staying in here?"


"Not at all," said the boy running his small hands over the soft material. "I thought that this was just a room he was using to paint in. I never dreamed that he actually slept here." He pulled out one of the uniforms and inhaled the scent. "It still holds his smell."

"Yes, I know. I was surprised that his clothes still held his scent after such a long time." Yuuri sat at the foot of the bed watching his son. "Don't tell Wolfram but when I'm feeling lonely I would come into his room and put on one of his shirts."

Yuu stared at his other father arching a brow. Yuuri shrugged his shoulders smiling softly. "It made me feel close to him. I never realized how much I would miss his warmth when we slept together."

Yuu's head snapped up as he glared daggers at his father. Yuuri, seeing the glare, immediately set about fixing the misunderstanding.

"It's not what you're thinking. See, when Wolfram and I were engaged, he took it upon himself to sleep in my bed. He said it was to protect me and he was my fiance after all. At least those were the explanations he gave me for sleeping in my bed every night. And talk about a bad sleeper. I would wake up every morning with Wolfram's foot buried in my side or I would wake up lying on the cold hard floor."

Satisfied with the explanation Yuu went back to searching in his father's closet. "What's this?" Yuu asked pulling out a white dress uniform with gold trimmings.

Yuuri cleared his throat as he stared down at his feet knowing his son would probably go back to hating him again. "That was the uniform Wolfram was going to wear when . . . when we got married."

Yuu's head snapped up as his glare returned on his face. He could feel his blood boil over with rage. The bastard! He knew how serious his father was about getting married and still he scornfully refused. Yuu had to take several deep breaths to calm the tidal wave of rage that was threatening to consume him. He must wait. The day is fast approaching when the almighty demon king, Yuuri will pay for the heartache he has caused. Swallowing the bile that rose in his throat, he gently hung the uniform back in the closet.

For a while Yuuri thought for sure the Yuu was going to roast him. Although he can still see the tension in the boy's shoulders, there was no explosion or verbal abuse. 'Maybe he really does want a chance to get to know me.'

"You know, your father had his own personal guards," said Yuuri changing the subject. "Their uniforms were the same as Wolfram's and each one was hand picked by your father for being strong fire wielders. In addition, each one of his soldiers are just as pretty as he is."

The boy turned to Yuuri arching a dark brow.

"Well, it's true. There's not one of his guards that looks plain. Although none of them could compare to your father's beauty, they are pretty." Yuuri frowned as a skeptical look marred the boy's face. "What? You don't believe me. Just you wait until noon. They are out on patrol now but when they come back, you will see that I was not lying."

Yuu smirked raising his hands in submission as he walked over to the bed. Falling to his knees, he pulled up the heavy top to one of the trunks and went through his father's old clothes.

"He sure has a lot of frilly shirts."

"I think that has to do more with your grandmother," said Yuuri getting to his knees as well looking into the trunk. He took out a small lacy, frilly dress.

Yuu stared at the nightmarish garment. "Why is there a dress in my father's trunk?"

"So, Wolfram never told you," said Yuuri snickering. "He's probably going to bake me for this but when he was young, his mother use to put him in dresses."

The boy's eyes widened in horror. "You're kidding."

Yuuri shook his head smiling. "Lady Celi got it in her head that because Wolfram took after her in looks, he should dress like her as well."

Yuu chuckled to himself as father and son continued to look through the trunks for clothes suitable for a young prince to wear. About an hour later, they had chosen enough clothes for Yuu to wear. After gathering the clothes into a pile Yuuri sent a guard to fetch the maids.

A few minutes later, Sangria, Lasagna and Doria arrived. Yuuri showed them the pile of clothes that he wanted them to wash and dry.

Suddenly another guard walked up to him. "Majesty," he said bowing. "Lord von Voltair has requested your presence in your office. He says you have more papers to sign."

Once the three maids left, Yuuri groaned as he plopped down on the bed letting an arm rest across his face.

Yuu shook his head smirking at his father's silly display. "Father was right. You are lazy."

"I am not," pouted Yuuri sitting up and folding his arms across his chest. "It's just so hard to sit behind a desk for hours on end signing stacks and stacks of documents. My fingers get cramped sometimes." He whined like a child.

"Wimp," the boy smirked.

"Not you too." His pouting became more childish. "I thought that since you were here that your tyrant of an uncle would at least give me the day off. I wanted to spend some time with you." He sighed heavily and slumped over resting his arms on his knees.

"Well, you are the king. You can do pretty much whatever you want."

"I wish it was as simple as you make it out to be," said Yuuri.

"Well, according to what my father said about you, you use to always go out on dangerous adventures whenever the others try to stop you," said Yuu smirking. "But then, that was several long years ago when you were a spirited young man." He crossed his arms across his chest still holding his smirk. "I guess you're no longer that adventurous young king who used to take the lead and pulled rank on your advisors."

Yuuri arched a dark brow at the boy's audacity. How dare the little snippet say he was too old for adventures. Well he will show him.

Yuu watched as a goofy smile spread across Yuuri's face. He had to bite the inside of his jaw to stop himself from showing this man who is his other parent a genuine smile. 'You are right father. His smile is contagious.' Instead of smiling, Yuu rolled his eyes and sighed as though he was talking to an overexcited overgrown child.

"What say I show you around the town and then we can have lunch."

"I thought you were too afraid of my unclet to leave the palace," said Yuu.

"I changed my mind. I'll just leave a note and we will be on our way."

Yuuri grabbed his son by the hand and led him to his own room. Yuu stared at his hand in his father's hand and frowned. He did not understand what was happening. His skin should be crawling with disgust like when he took hold of his father's hand before but instead, the large warm hand felt rather nice.

Arriving at Yuuri's room, they went inside. Yuu sat on the settee waiting for his father to come out of the bathroom. When Yuuri stepped back into his bedroom, Yuu's eyes widened in shock at the reddish brown hair and blue eyes of his father.

Seeing the questioning look in his son's eyes, Yuuri answered the unasked question.

"It's the only way I'll be able to walk through the town without being accosted by the people. Also, this is the disguise I wore when I use to travel in human territory when I first came to Shin Makoku." Yuuri smiled. "So, shall we go."

Yuu walked over to the door opening it. "After you, Your Majesty."

"You are too kind, my brave knight," he said jokingly.

Once they made it out of the castle without being seen, Yuuri led Yuu to the northern wall of the garden where there was a secret exit covered by thick vines and flowers.

"If you are going to do what you want why are you sneaking out of the castle?"

"Well, better safe than sorry," Yuuri said sheepishly. "That uncle of yours is very scary at times. Especially when it comes to doing my kingly work."

As they left the castle and headed into town, Yuu decided that the secret passage in the garden would be an excellent place for Gustav to enter the castle grounds without being seen.

'Yuuri Shibuya, demon King of Shin Makoku.' He snorted. 'What a complete incompetent fool you are.'