I have been busy, so that is why it has taken so long for me to finish this. I'm sorry for the wait.

The inn was a moment for everyone, except for Gwendal, to relax. As was typical of this situation, the General had found a desk in the room he would be sharing with Conrad and he had immediately set to work on writing letters to the countries of each of the children they had rescued. For Shin Makoku this was an opportunity to strengthen its bonds with its new allies, even if Yuuri saw it as a simple good deed they had done because they happened to be there at the right time.

Only a few hours had passed since the glade, but the General's mind kept wandering back to Yuuri's confession and its significance. Saying those words was important enough, but to say them in front of everyone else, especially Conrad, was more than Gwendal could wish for. With luck, the confession would dispel any doubts and reservations his brothers and comrades had and he also hoped it would boost his own confidence in Yuuri.

Realizing his thoughts had strayed from the task at hand, the demon tried to force himself to focus.

His attempt failed as the door to the bedroom creaked open and Yuuri entered.

"Hey, Gwendal," the boy mumbled as he crossed the room to drape his arms over the demon's shoulders. "Come with me."

"Come with you?" the General questioned, aware his muscles had tensed. "To where?"

"Just do it," Yuuri whispered, pressing his warm cheek against the man's neck. "I want to talk with you."

"Can't you speak with me here?" Gwendal asked, setting down his quill.

"No," the Maou insisted. "You'll be too distracted by your work and this is important."

Reluctantly, the demon consented to do as Yuuri had asked and the two wandered out of the inn and to the baths located in back.

"Here?" Gwendal inquired, glancing around at the dark foliage and boulders surrounding the steaming baths. "Why here?"

Yuuri didn't say anything at first, his back towards the demon, and the General couldn't help realizing how small the boy looked.

"I wanted to say it," the boy blurted, startling the demon. "Back in the Nameless Village when you said you loved me. I wanted to say it too. I wanted to say you were the largest part of my existence and tell you I loved you the way you had just done. Then I froze. I panicked. I couldn't."

The demon hadn't wanted to discuss this. He had hoped since the glade that this conversation would disappear like their many past arguments and never surface. Now, Yuuri was carrying it on all by himself and the General didn't have the energy to argue against him.

"I felt horrible," Yuuri admitted, his head dropping. "I didn't mean to say whatever it was I said..."

"'Are you sure?' was what you said," Gwendal told him in a tone as devoid of emotion as the General could manage.

"Is it..." the Maou sighed. "I couldn't even remember. I kept panicking, thinking I had said something so bad. I was worried you were...no, I knew you were angry. I knew you were hurt. I was worried...it was the end."

"I'm sorry," the General tried to apologize. "I overreacted and..."

"No," Yuuri shook his head. "You didn't. I should have just gotten up the courage to at least explain myself and I'm sorry."

The demon fought down a smile.

"I know I'll probably put you through more problems," the boy groaned. "But I'm honestly trying. I swear."

Upon seeing the youth's shoulders quiver, Gwendal couldn't restrain himself another second. In two steps, he had reached the Maou and wrapped his arms around Yuuri's petite frame, his face burying into the dark of the boy's hair.

They didn't say anything as the night enveloped them and the demon was grateful for the quiet as he felt Yuuri's heart thrumming against his chest.

He didn't care that Yuuri had blundered the first time Gwendal had tried to express his feelings. They were going to be blundering over more than just a confession of love. He was simply happy they had managed to get as far as they had and he was determined to remain on this path.

As long as Yuuri wanted Gwendal at his side, the General was going to try to stay beside the Maou.

All he could hope was silent promises like these were capable of being kept.

As Gwendal returned to his desk, his mind kept wandering back to the baths. He could still feel the pressure of Yuuri's lips against his own. He could still feel the fingers gliding up his neck and tangling into his hair. Heat had pumped through his entire body, leaving his fingers tingling and his feet numb. He had wanted nothing more than to press Yuuri against a wall and have his way. Against his ear he could still feel the buzz of words whispered and his eyes were imprinted with the blushing cheeks of the boy as he pressed the demon against a pillar.

For once, it had been Gwendal who almost had been swept away.

Staring at the letters still in need of writing, the demon felt it was nothing short of a miracle he had been able to stop Yuuri from making a decision he could never take back.

He knew how tomorrow would go: he would see Yuuri, who would be embarrassed, and they would try to avoid the topic of what had happened last night. Gwendal would try to fight away the memories of the Maou's tiny hands pressing against the demon's hips as he slipped his fingers beneath the hem of the man's pants. Yuuri would try to forget about the suggestion he had made in one gasp of breath as terrified in tone as the frantic look in the boy's eyes. They would try to remember that though they had one moment of weakness, they had triumphed and no regrets had been made that night.

Forcing himself to concentrate, the General returned to work.

The following day went exactly as Gwendal had anticipated: Yuuri was a stuttering blushing fool as he tried to interact with Gwendal in as normal a way as possible while Gwendal became quieter than usual in an attempt to keep from sounding like Yuuri. As if they weren't having trouble enough, Yozak kept making jokes about them and Conrad appeared to have caught on that something had happened because he was being particularly attentive to the Maou. Everyone else was as oblivious as usual, much to Gwendal's relief.

The demon was grateful when they finally were out on the open sea, away from the children at the docks and away from Adelbert, whom had tossed Yuuri the pendant he had taken.

The return of the pendant appeared to be the turning point for Yuuri as he looked to Gwendal after a few moments then smiled. Unsure of what this smile meant, Gwendal simply stared at Yuuri as the boy began conversing with Murata in a jovial manner, all earlier nervousness gone.

Frowning, the General had gone to check on his youngest brother.

The return to the castle was met with excitement. Hyscliffe informed them treasures had been sent as a show of gratitude from Shin Makoku's allies. All of the royal families were delighed they didn't have to be separated from their children and the proposal for an overseas study exchange for the children had been annulled. Gunter had then proposed a castle-wide celebration, much to the General's annoyance.

Only a few minutes into the celebration and Gwendal had decided he officially hated social gatherings as he was forced to attend to the political matters since Yuuri wasn't quite capable of handling this part of being Maou. A couple of the lords of Shin Makoku were present, but the General easily distracted them and then had them redirected elsewhere in the party. The alcohol had made the night warmer than it needed to be and the music was getting on his nerves. He would have willingly passed the entire ordeal off to Gunter, but the royal aid had strategically glued himself to the Great Sage's side, making him ineffective. To make matters worse, the demon's entire face hurt from plastering a fake smile to his lips in an attempt to appear approachable. He had a vague feeling it wasn't working as a group of women cast him a glance and then quickly moved to the other side of the room.

Something tugged on his sleeve, and the General turned, expecting to have caught it, only to find Yuuri staring up at him with Cecilie at the boy's side.

"Why don't the two of you dance?" Cecilie asked, grinning wide. "This is the occasion to and who knows when you'll get another chance!"

Gwendal felt when Conrad's eyes landed on him and he knew his brother could tell how nervous Cecilie's suggestion had made him. He had every intention of refusing, but when Yuuri looked up at him with half-pleading eyes the demon swallowed down his insecurities and agreed with a curt nod before taking the boy's hand and leading him out onto the dance floor. Several others were already dancing, but they stopped to move to the sidelines the moment Gwendal began directing the Maou across the tiles. The absence of other couples dancing made Yuuri nervous and predictably he began to fumble over his feet at all of the attention.

"Ignore them," the General said beneath his breath as nobles began to whisper to one another. "Just look at me."

This statement sent red across the boy's face, but he did as the demon had directed.

Tension built in Gwendal's chest as they stared at each other and he immediately began to talk in hopes of alleviating the strain in the mood.

"A-are you enjoying the celebration, your highness?" the demon questioned as he waltzed the youth in a circle.

"Yeah," the boy responded, blinking in what appeared to be surprise. "It's nice that we get a chance to relax a bit, instead of always being in peril. Though it would have been great if we'd found the last box already."

"In time," the General assured him. "Though preferably sooner rather than later."

Yuuri nodded, his gaze dropping for a moment to his feet, causing him to trip again.

"I-I'm not any good at this," the boy blurted as his eyes returned to Gwendal's.

"Since you are small," the demon informed him. "You can just follow my lead. Stop fighting me for control and we'll move more fluidly."

"Stop fighting you, huh..." Yuuri mumbled and Gwendal's brows shot up as he realized the boy had found a deeper meaning, which the demon hadn't intended to imply. "So if I just let you lead..."

"In dancing, your highness," the General grunted. "Nothing else."

"I've been wondering," the youth sighed. "If I had simply trusted you to do the right thing, how many of the situations would have turned out: with Stoffel and Gegenhuber and King Belar..."

"If you had trusted me too early," Gwendal admitted, his grip tightening unintentionally. "You would not have liked the outcome."

Yuuri frowned at this and looked away, stumbling a second later.

"If anything," the General continued after gathering his thoughts. "I have learned or at least tried to learn to follow your lead."

The boy stared at the demon, his eyes a mixture of emotions Gwendal couldn't decipher.

"But you..." Yuuri hesitated. "B-but you went ahead with your King Belar plan anyways."

"Yes, I did."

"Even though we already had survived Conrad doing the same thing."

The demon tensed at the statement.

"Conrad went ahead with his own plan without consulting any of us," Yuuri continued, sounding exasperated. "We thought he had died then we thought he had betrayed us. How do you think it would have made any of us feel to learn you not only went ahead with your plan without consulting us, but killed Belar before dying yourself? Don't you think that's just as bad a betrayal?"

"I never thought of it as a betrayal," Gwendal confessed. "Though I see your point. In hindsight, the plan wasn't a good one, merely done in haste and desperation on little information and opportunity."

"Then why..."

"Because I have done, continue to, and will do whatever it takes to protect Shin Makoku."

The statement seemed to hit the youth hard as he tried to stop dancing, but the General forced the Maou to continue moving.

"That's ridiculous," Yuuri hissed, a hint of anger now in his tone. "You can't actually expect me to be okay with you...sacrificing yourself like that!"

"I do not believe in surrender," Gwendal told him. "Neither in war nor in life. Though it may have escaped your notice, I am a General and an Admiral as well as a Lord. I am well-aware my life is to be spent serving this kingdom."

"But is that what you want?"

"It is."

"And because you've worked towards it from the beginning wanting to do so and not because you were obligated?"

The General couldn't stop a chuckle from surfacing.

"Of course, I was obligated," the demon replied. "But I am a man of duty and I have been since the beginning. Despite what you might be thinking, Yuuri, I enjoy feeling a sense of duty towards this country."

"You enjoy being obligated?" Yuuri questioned in disbelief.

"Yes," Gwendal answered. "But it is always on my terms."

"Then isn't it just you surrendering to your duties?" the boy demanded before adding in a sarcastic tone, "Mr. I-do-not-believe-in-surrender?"

The demon choked on a laugh in his attempt to fight it down.

"You and I have differing opinions on what is appropriate to sacrifice for the safety and survival of Shin Makoku," the General explained. "But that isn't necessarily a bad thing. Might I make a suggestion?"

The boy was pouting now, but he gave a weak nod.

"As I am war adviser, why not simply listen to my judgment on such matters and decide for yourself the appropriate course of action?" He secretly enjoyed when this brightened the youth's eyes. "I promise on my honor, your majesty, I will follow your lead."

"Fine," Yuuri agreed quickly. "On one condition."

The General's brow rose.

"You don't ever act on your own again."

Gwendal smiled as he brought their dance to a halt, tugging the youth against his body as he leaned down so his bangs became curtains on either side of the Maou's face.

"Agreed," he whispered as murmurs filled the crowd surrounding them.

Yuuri smiled, a warm smile the demon realized he would never grow tired of seeing, and then pulled the man down into a kiss.

I don't know why this chapter was incredibly difficult for me to write. I think I redid it three times before I was semi-satisfied. I'm still not entirely happy with it.