Why Yuuri Wakes Up Early

Summary: Mornings in the royal palace of Shin Makoku – the young lord Bielefeld lies in bed for a long time after his fiancée is up and running. A OneShot explaining this. Yuuram fluff from both points-of-view.

-~W~-

I wake up later than Yuuri, as is our custom, and I lie in bed for a few extra minutes of bliss. The sun has risen, the staff of the royal household has been up and bustling for hours, but I can close my eyes for a few more seconds and indulge in my personal fantasy.

Oh, get your mind out of the gutter. It's nothing like that.

My fantasy is one of the heart. It sounds childish, but everyone wants to be loved. I am admired, perhaps, and lusted after by women, but aside from my mother and brothers, no one particularly loves me. Even Elizabeth only used me as her political pawn, and ultimately she did not suffer from the cancellation of our betrothal.

And so it is that in the mornings, when the world hasn't yet begun to bother me and fill my head with doubts and worries, I slip into a dreamlike state, wishing so hard that it begins to seem real.

For a nobleman, a would-be prince at that, my dreams are quite simple. I fantasize nothing of castles and gilded thrones, nor of banquets and glowing halls. Rather, I dream that one day I will look to Yuuri and see something beyond that youthful ignorance he still possesses. It's been months. Far too long, and the boy cannot or willfully refuses to see that there is more between us than camaraderie. So when I shut my eyes against the morning sun, I see our family around the breakfast table, Yuuri's arm around my waist, and a quick kiss before he runs off to train with Conrad. I see a wedding band around my finger, placed with care and not with concern for titles or lands, but for simple and honest love. I see – for at least a few moments – something deeper in those ebony eyes than mere friendship.

And then I rouse myself from bed and shake away the dreams, for it is time to begin the day.

– Y—

"Ne, Wolfram, get up!" I try, as I do every morning, but to no avail.

"Daddy…" Greta shakes his arm a bit, but aside from rumpling the sleeve of his pink nightgown, it does nothing.

"Oh well, Greta," I said with a blank face. "Seems like we'll never be able to wake him up in the morning." And for some reason I can't explain, I feel a bit upset by this. But I quickly shake the thought from my head. "Run along and find Namira – it's past time you were dressed and had breakfast."

"Hai!" She jumps up and plants a big kiss on my cheek before dashing to the next room, where her handmaid surely waits as is the custom.

"Wolfram," I try again, although I still don't expect it to work. "Wolf!" In my agitation, I barely recall striking his face with the flat of my palm.

"Ne, Yuuri," he says softly. I start back in confusion. He's speaking clearly, but his eyes aren't open. "I'm only dreaming. So shut up and don't speak, okay?" For a minute I fight the temptation, but then it gets the better of me.

"What are you dreaming about?" I ask out of morbid curiosity.

"You, of course. Same as always, you idiot." I repress a gasp of surprise. I can't keep the words out of my mouth.

"Y-you dream about me?!"

"Of course, brainless. You and me as a married couple, and you actually love me." He speaks so simply, so truthfully, that it never crosses my mind to doubt him.

"I – Never mind." I pause, and he rolls to one side. When I'm sure he hasn't woken up, I ask in a clear tone, "Do you ever dream about anyone else?"

"Yes, sometimes." Although he's asleep, I want to repress the cringe in my muscles. He can't see, but I still hate to admit that it hurts me.

"Who? Who else is there?" Who else takes up the space in your mind that should be mine?! is the real question.

"Greta, of course." And in that instant, I understand. Perhaps out of guilt, I reply in a gentler way.

"I should have known. Wolfram," it takes me a minute to formulate the right words. I've never been good with speaking, even to someone asleep. "Have you ever thought about what would happen if we actually went through with it? With the whole marriage thing?"

"Marriage?" He says groggily. I freeze – is he waking up?

"No, forget I ever said –" But it's too late.

"What are you rattling on about, you idiot?" The blonde is fully awake now, looking pissed off and grumpy as he always does in the early hours. "It's not often you stay in bed with me, and now you're prating about marriage? Don't you dare toy with my emotions when I'm not conscious enough to fight back!" Suddenly I'm glad his sword is across the room. However, there are plenty of pillows, and soon he's attacking the royal head with many of them. I fight back, and there is a verbal fight with great intensity.

"Forget I ever said anything!"

"How can I forget?! You're scum, Yuuri, you're brazen, twofaced scum!"

"I am not! Wolfram, stop!" And with that, he kicks me out of bed. From the floor, a single thought remains in my aching head.

So this is why I always wake up before that fiancée of mine. Oww!