The King\'s Advisor

Yuri woke up alone.

He stirred, stretching out on stained sheets smelling strongly of other, his joints popping as he yawned in pleasure. The bed canopy was an unfamiliar one, and tangled around his fingers was a long strand of silver hair.

He smiled.

“Your Majesty,” and Conrad moved into view. He was as impeccable as always, but there was a trace of apprehension in his kind eyes.

“Don’t call me ‘Majesty’, Godfather,” and Yuri held out his arms. Conrad sighed in relief and smiled, and went to him.

“Do you think,” he said, as they swapped slow, luxurious kisses, “That in these circumstances calling me ‘Godfather’ might be a little inappropriate?”

“You’re probably right,” Yuri conceded. Conrad bit him on the jaw and he snorted. “So disrespectful,” he teased. He tucked his head under Conrad’s chin and felt a certain desire to purr. “Has Günter gone out for a bath or something? When will he be back?” And suddenly he felt the older demon tense.

“I don’t know where he is,” Conrad admitted.

“I see.” A small line appeared between his eyebrows, and he gently pushed Conrad away. “Did he run?” he asked flatly.

“I’m afraid he did.”

“Did he give you a reason?”

“No.”

“Well,” said Yuri, sliding out of bed, and taking his shirt from where it was hanging on the back of a chair, “We’d better go find him,” and Conrad smiled so that Yuri knew he’d made the right decision. “Do you know where he went?”

“Yes, but he made me promise not to tell anyone.”

A slow smile tugged at the edges of Yuri’s mouth. “I am king,” said the Demon King, “And both of you belong to me now.” Conrad nodded, but Yuri could see that the man was bothered. Good. He shouldn’t have let Günter leave. Anyone would have known that the first thing Günter would do was run. “Help me with my jacket, would you?”

Since becoming a full time king at the age of twenty one, Yuri decided that he wasn’t going to dress like a high school student anymore. Much to Günter’s unquiet dismay, Yuri’s garments took on a military tone. The jacket was heavy and formal and took help to fall just right. Conrad set it across Yuri’s shoulders and adjusted it. “Your Majesty,” Conrad said politely, and then Yuri felt an unmistakable pinch on his bum and was startled into laughing. He let his head fall back and they kissed, hard.

“Let’s go get our lover,” and Conrad’s eyes flashed vulnerable, then firmed.

“Yuri?”

“Yes?”

“I love you both.”

And Yuri smiled. “Good,” he said. He stood on tiptoe, and gave Conrad’s neck a short, sharp nip and Conrad smirked.

They went together, walking side by side, not touching but close enough that the maids were unusually subdued at they rushed past, and Yuri wondered if the betting pool’s odds had been thrown into disarray by last night’s events. It was midmorning as they walked into the stables. Aoi had grown old and retired years ago, and now Yuri had a pretty white mare to ride, and she arched her neck and pranced as she was led around, saddled and ready for him to mount. Conrad’s horse whickered to see him, and then they rode out together.

It was a long ride. Out of the city, into the hills and scrub. Since no one lived out this way Yuri was able to take off his jacket and ride in shirtsleeves, sweat trickling down his spine and dust staining the cuffs of his shirt. Conrad, by contrast, looked impeccable and the uniform resolutely stayed on. Yuri sweated harder just looking at him.

The sun climbed higher and higher, and finally began to drop as they descended into a small valley. The arid, sparse vegetation became thicker and greener, until the men and their horses slipped into deep shade with shared sigh of relief. Water all around them; forming on the underside of leaves and trickling down tree trunks, following into streamlets and then into creeks. Finally, they reached a deep, silent billabong, and in it, chest deep in the water with a fish spear in hand, was Günter.

He didn’t look up as they dismounted, but with a swift, clean movement, thrust the spear into the water. The spear came back empty, and he looked up, looked at them, looked away again.

“Hello, Günter,” said Yuri, and Günter bowed without raising his eyes to meet theirs. “Come out of there.”

There were bruises on Günter’s neck and shoulders, bite marks, and Yuri liked the look of them very much. He also liked the way Günter’s soaking trousers clung to the older Demon’s body. Glancing sideways, he saw that Conrad liked it too. The three-pronged spear made a crunching sound as it was driven into the ground, and Günter still didn’t look up as he folded his knee and knelt before his king.

“You can kiss me, if you’d like,” Yuri said, and Günter slowly raised his head. Still on his knees, his hands shaking, he cupped Yuri’s face and Yuri leant down to meet him. Slow, chaste, meeting of lips; neither of them moved, then a bird called somewhere nearby and startled, Günter jerked away. Yuri smiled reassuringly. “Get dressed. Then we’ll talk.”

Conrad led the horses away, and Günter sat himself down and pulled on a shirt, blushing as Yuri watched. There were a couple of fallen logs nearby and they sat there. Günter worried at a patch of moss, digging at it with his fingernails, and Yuri felt at a loss.

“Are you unhappy about us being here? Is this your secret hideaway or something?” and finally Günter spoke to them.

“Yes. I mean no.” He frowned. “I mean, this is my…hideaway. But I am not unhappy.”

He fell silent again, and Yuri frowned, trying to figure out why Günter seemed upset. “Why did you leave us, Günter? Did we do something wrong?”

“What?” For the first time, Günter made eye contact. “No, no, of course not. Your Majesty has done nothing wrong.” And he dropped his head down again and went back to pummelling the innocent moss. A lock of hair began to work its way loose from the clumsy knot on top of Günter ‘s head, then Conrad stirred and coughed and spoke.

“You think you have,” the half-Demon said, “You think that you’ve taken advantage of us. You’re ashamed that you lay with us out of wedlock, and you think that somehow, you influenced us, and you feel guilty. You worry about what people will say. You think that we have all made a terrible mistake.” And a thin thread of anger laced his voice as he said, “You were embarrassed, and so you left us. You ran.”

“I’m sorry.”

“About what?” Conrad snapped back. “For having sex with us, or running away?”

Günter didn’t reply. The loose lock of hair fell, hiding his face.

“I don’t regret it,” Yuri said.

“I gave you the wine, remember?” Conrad added.

“I didn’t have to drink it.” Günter’s fingernails were stained bright green.

“I’m glad you did,” Conrad said coldly, “Because you never would have lain with us otherwise.” A silence. Then, “Are you embarrassed because you slept with a half-breed?” and Günter opened his eyes wide, horrified.

“Conrart!”

“Well, is it?”

“Of course not,” Günter said firmly. “You know better than that. You’re…you’re half my age. And my old student. What I did was thoroughly inappropriate. And His Majesty…” he trailed off miserably.

“My name,” said Yuri, “Is Yuri. Don’t ever call me ‘majesty’ again, do you understand?”

Confusion on his face, Günter replied automatically, “I understand Your Maj- Yuri. Yuri,” he repeated.

“I’m an adult, Günter,” Conrad said forcefully, “If anything, I took advantage of you. You never would have let me kiss you sober.”

Günter didn’t try to deny it. “It’s just wrong,” he said, but quietly.

“For more years than I can count, I’ve wanted to kiss you,” Conrad’s voice was soft. “I’ve never been happier than last night, when I watched the two of you sleep in my bed.” Reaching out, he wrapped Yuri’s smaller hand in a warm and calloused grip. “Please don’t take back everything we did last night. I couldn’t bear it.”

“Günter,” Yuri said.

“Yes?”

“I’m the Demon King. There is absolutely no way that you could get me to do anything I did not want to do.”

A long silence. Günter bit his lip, his pretty face drawn in a frown. Finally, he sighed, seemed to come to some sort of a decision. He stood and bent down to press his mouth to Conrad’s. Conrad kissed back, hard and sloppy. Günter on his knees between them, and Conrad and Yuri took it in turns to kiss the silver-haired Demon. Things escalated; Günter’s hair was tugged down from its knot and Conrad’s jacket was askew. Yuri got to his feet and walked off; he could hear the other two scramble to follow him. There was a banked fire on the high ground above the billabong, and a sleeping roll spread out beside it. Yuri turned to watch Günter as he stumbled, hindered by Conrad’s attempts at lovemaking. Günter half dropped, half fell onto the blankets and Conrad straddled the older man, pulling at both of their clothes.

Yuri glanced around idly.

It was truly a beautiful place, a tiny chosen place, and it was just like Günter to find such a thing. The shade was deep and cool and pleasant, and the water inviting. He scooped up a handful to drink, noting as he did so the string of scaled and gutted fish kept in the shallows for freshness, with a wall of rocks to keep the live fish from nibbling on the flesh. Günter had obviously expected company.

Conrad called out Yuri’s name, his voice pleading, and Yuri turned to see Günter unfasten the half-Demon’s trousers and take him in his mouth.

Smiling, Yuri went to both of his lovers.