Chapter 1 :: I Want to Fall in Love with You

"Ah-choo!"

"Are you okay, Wolfram?" Conrad asked full of concern.

"I'm fine, Weller-kyo!" Wolfram answered with an annoyed look.

"Maybe you should warm up inside, Wolfram," said Gunter.

"And let you have Yuri all to yourself? No way!" he yelled, then Wolfram sneezed again.

They had been waiting for Yuri's arrival, along with The Great Sage—Murata. Ulrike had told them that they should arrive in about one hour, but they had waited for six hours now and nothing came out of the fountain at the Shinou Temple.

"Henachoko…!" Wolfram grumbled angrily. "What's taking him so long?!"

In that exact moment after that, the water in front of the three men suddenly swirled rapidly and two black head surfaced.

"Yuri! You wimp! What took you so long?!" Wolfram scolded Yuri immediately after he saw that his fiancé arrived safely with that sheepish grin on his face.

"Ah, Wolfram! Tadaima! How have you be—"

"Heika!" Gunter cut off Yuri's words and hugged him tightly. "Oh, Heika, I miss you so much! I cannot survive in this chilling winter alone, without seeing your face every day, Heika! Oh, Heika!"

"Gunter! Get off of Yuri!" Wolfram shoved Gunter aside roughly. "He is my fiancé!"

"Okaeri, Heika, Geika," said Conrad calmly while he gave the towels to Yuri and Murata.

"Ah, thanks!" said Yuri with a warm smile.

"Aaahhh!" Wolfram yelled loudly. "Yuri! You cheater!" accused Wolfram angrily. He started to chase Yuri with fireballs in his hand.

"Eh? Wolfram? I didn't cheat!" said Yuri with panic expression while running off around the fountain, trying to get away from Wolfram.

"I saw that, Henachoko! What's the meaning of that smile?!"

"It didn't mean anything!"

"Wimp! You cheater!"

"I'm not a cheater!"

They continued to play run-and-chase until Murata broke it off. "Ne, Yuri, lets hurry back to the Blood Pledge Castle. It's cold out here."

Yuri stopped running suddenly, causing Wolfram to run his face to Yuri's back. Now, come to think of it, Yuri has grown a lot in these past 5 years. After his 19th birthday last year, Yuri's height and muscle started to grow with rapid speed—well, he is a late bloomer. Now Yuri's height has catch up with Conrad's height with only 2cm difference. Thanks to the baseball he always plays, now he has a broader shoulder and well-built body—which is really, really hot. Compared to Yuri, Wolfram didn't grow at all even though he will reach his 90th in the next 2 years. Maybe his height and built already reach its maximum. Everybody doubted that Wolfram would not gain height ever again, since he spent the last 35 years with no progress at all, despite all the hard exercises he had every day as a trained soldier.

"Wimp! Why did you stop su—ah-choo!"

"Yeah, we should return quickly. It is freezing in here," said Yuri while walking off to his black horse—Ao.

"Wait, Yuri! Ah-choo! Ah-choo!"

Yuri stopped walking and turned around. "You okay, Wolf?"

"I'm fine!" Wolfram snorted, acting that he perfectly fine and didn't sneezed at all. But then, "Ah-choo!" he sneezed again.

Yuri chuckled lightly. "No, you're not fine at all." After he said that, Yuri put his towel around Wolfram's neck like a scarf. "Good thing I didn't use the towel, huh?" Yuri gave Wolfram a warm smile. He turned and walked off to Ao—missing a faint blush in Wolfram's face.

—*.*—

*bump*

Yuri groaned painfully after he successfully kicked out of the bed by a certain blonde. He cursed under his breath and got up from the cold floor. He grabbed the blanket, ready to roll off Wolfram out of the bed—that is, until he saw Wolfram's body shivering lightly. He sighed and cancelled his earlier plan.

'Is he cold?' Yuri thought as he climbed onto the bed again and scooted closer to his fiancé. When they were close, Yuri realized that Wolfram's breath wasn't even, and his pale cheek flushed red. Yuri put his left hand on Wolfram's forehead softly, "He has quite a high fever."

Yuri sighed again and got off from the bed. He fixed the blanket until it was covering Wolfram's body completely before he opened the wardrobe and changed his clothes.

'He is cute,' thought the King; a small smile graced his lip as he watched Wolfram's still sleeping face. He walked off to the door opening it quietly not to stir wolframs sleep, and closed it slowly, he went to the infirmary.

'It's been 5 years since I engaged to Wolfram, huh?' Yuri smiled fondly when he remembered his fiancé's face just now. The King continued to think about Wolfram along the way until he reached the infirmary.

The double black entered the infirmary and called, "Gisela-san! Are you here?"

The green haired woman appeared behind a tall shelf upon hearing her name.

"Ah, there you are!" Yuri walked closer to the woman.

"Heika! Are you feeling sick?" asked Gisela with a worried expression.

"Eh?" Yuri scratched the back of his head and smiled sheepishly, "Nah, it's not me. It's Wolfram."

Gisela's brow rose slightly, waiting for Yuri's next explanation.

"He has a fever. Quite high fever," said Yuri with a concerned look. The sheepish smile has disappeared completely from his face.

"Oh my. I will go and check on him," said Gisela as she prepared some things.

"No, you don't have to."

"Eh?" Gisela stopped immediately. She looked at the King with a questioning look.

"Just give me the medicine. I will nurse him this time," said Yuri with a determined look.

Gisela's brows knitted together, and then she nodded with an understanding face. "This is the medicine for von Bielefeld-kyo," she gave Yuri a small bottle full of tablets. "Two tablets after a meal. Three times a day."

"Okay," Yuri took the bottle from Gisela and put it inside his pocket. "Anything else?"

Gisela gave a small bucket of cold water and a towel to the double black and said, "Please change it from time to time, Heika."

"I will," Yuri smiled reassuringly and went back to his room.

—*.*—

"—ram! Wolfram!"

Wolfram woke up groggily when he heard a gentle sound calling his name. "…Yuri?"

"Ne, Wolfram, can you sit?"

Wolfram left out a soft groan as he tried to sit up but failed miserably. Yuri chuckled softly after seeing the blonde's clumsiness and helped Wolfram to sit properly. He brought out a bowl of warm soup in front of Wolfram. "Can you eat by yourself?"

Wolfram—still with his flushed face—just nodded his head and pick up the spoon—only to drop it again because his hand was shivering.

"Well, I guess you can't." Yuri picked up the spoon to help Wolfram with his breakfast.

Wolfram shook his head, refused to eat. "I can eat… by myself, Yuri… You shouldn't trouble yourself… with me."

The King rolled his eyes and said, "That's not a thing a sick person like you should say, Wolfram. It's okay. Just let me nurse you."

Wolfram tilted his head to one side cutely, surprised by Yuri's words. He didn't say anything anymore and started to eat the soup obediently.

—*.*—

Yuri ate his breakfast quietly as he watched Wolfram's sleeping face. He changed the towel on Wolfram's forehead from time to time with a tender expression.

After spending the last 5 years going back and forth from Earth to Shin Makoku, Yuri has learned a lot of things and accepted the fact that the same sex marriage is totally fine in this land. He knew that Wolfram love him in that way and hoped that Yuri will return his love. But truth to be told, it's not easy to change one's sexual preference. Yuri has been straight in his whole life and he has been taught that the same sex relationship is totally taboo in his world. He never thought that he would be engaged to a man—that is, until his little world turned upside down when he was 15th year old.

'I have to start thinking seriously about our relationship and engagement,' thought Yuri as he patted Wolfram's head tenderly.

"It all started that day," Yuri removed a strand of golden lock from Wolfram's face. "When I saw you the first time I came here, when I fell from the horse after I entered the castle." Yuri remembered vividly the moment they first met. "You were standing proudly with all your beauty in front of me."

'I think I have started to accept you as my fiancé,' Yuri paused his trail of thoughts for a while. 'I want to fall in love with you. But I need more time, Wolfram. Please give me more time. Just a little more, for me to prepare my heart properly. For you.'

The room was filled with peace—only the sound of Wolfram's soft breathing could be heard.

'A little more, and I will be yours. Entirely. Forever.'

Yuri had finished eating his breakfast and changed the towel on Wolfram's forehead again when he heard a soft knock from the door. Soon after that, the door opened and Conrad came in. "Heika, why didn't you turn up at breakfast?"

"Shh, quietly, Conrad," said Yuri softly, he didn't want to wake up the blonde beside him. "And it's Yuri, Nazukeoya."

"Yes, Yuri," Conrad walked closer until he saw the person lying in bed. "Wolfram?"

"He has a fever," said Yuuri quietly. "Quite high one, I don't think he will be able to get up today."

Conrad agreed and nodded—even though Yuri didn't see his nod because the King fixed his eyes on Wolfram only. "He seems to have it bad. He waited for you outside for 6 hours after all."

"Eh? That long?" Yuri caressed Wolfram's sleeping face gently before he stood up and headed towards the door, along with Conrad following behind him.

"Does that mean that you and Gunter also waited that long?"

"No, Yuri. After we waited for 2 hours, we went inside to warm up. Only Wolfram waited outside for 6 hours straight. He refused to warm up inside until you show up," answer Conrad honestly as he closed the door behind them.

"Hm…"

"Are you mad about it, Heika?"

"Eh? About what?"

"About I and Gunter didn't wait for you outside."

"Wha—! No, no, of course not! It's just… Wolfram, he… I didn't think that he would be that determined on waiting for me in that chilling weather—oh, and you just called me Heika again."

Conrad smiled tenderly towards his godson. "I'm sorry, Yuri."

—*.*—

Yuri stretched his arm lazily on his desk. He glanced at a pile of paperwork before him and sighed loudly. "Why is there always a mountain pile of paperwork coming every day? This is not normal!"

"Hng!" Gwendal growled at Yuri dangerously. "If you spend more time in here and do your paperwork properly, it won't piled up that much!"

Yuri gulped down and went back to work immediately. He read and signed some more of his paperwork until Greta came bursting in.

"Yuri!"

"Greta!" Yuri petted Greta's head lightly. "Done with your study with Gunter?"

"Uh-huh!" Greta nodded cheerfully. "Ne, Yuri, have you seen Wolfram?"

"Eh?" As if he just realized something, Yuri stood up quickly until his chair fell backwards. "I forgot about him!"

The double black glanced towards the only clock in that room—it was 2 pm, time for lunch. He grabbed Greta's hand and ran to the door, leaving Gwendal alone.

Gwendal's brow twitched and he glared at the piled up paperwork on Yuri's desk. The unsigned stack of paperwork was twice higher than the signed paper. "That Maou…! How dare he ran away, leaving so much work behind!"

—*.*—

'I should check on Wolfram first,' was the first thought on the King's mind after he left the King's study room. 'Maybe he is still sleeping…'

"Yuri? Where are we going?" asked Greta with confused-but-adorable look on her face.

"Wolfram has a high fever this morning," said Yuri to his adopted daughter, not really answering Greta's question.

"Eh? Wolfram has a fever? Is he okay?"

"It's okay, Greta. His fever should be down already by now," Yuri tried to reassured Greta, even though he wasn't really sure about it himself. "I think he's still sleeping."

Seconds later, they arrived in front of the Royal Chamber. "Shh," Yuri put his index finger in front of his lip. "We should be quiet."

The double black opened the door slowly, trying not to make any sound at all, while his daughter giggled excitedly beside him.

"Wimp! What the hell are you doing?! Just open it already!" Wolfram yelled from inside the room.

"Eh? He is awake?" Yuri murmured lowly.

Greta pushed the door open and ran inside. "Wolfram!" she grabbed his legs with her small hands.

Yuri frowned when he saw Wolfram standing in front of the wardrobe wearing blue pants and white shirt. "What are you doing?"

"What do you mean, wimp?" answered Wolfram with an annoyed look. He lifted Greta up and hugged her. He brought her to the bed and sat her up. Wolfram sat beside her and they began to chat about trivial things—Yuri was completely left out.

The double black was about to close the door behind him, when suddenly Lady Cheri came in. "Ara, Greta!"

"Ah, Cheri-sama!" Greta ran towards her immediately, leaving Wolfram pouting alone in bed because his precious time with his daughter has been taken away by his mother.

"I have a new dress for you! Want to try it out?" asked Lady Cheri with a wide smile.

"Really?" Greta started bouncing in her place excitedly. "I want to try it out!"

"Then let's go!" Lady Cheri grabbed Greta's hand and they started too walked out of the room.

"Bye bye, Yuri, Wolfram!" Greta waved her left hand to her parent enthusiastically. "See you at dinner!"

Yuri waved her back with an equal enthusiasm, while Wolfram just put on his blue jacket—still pouting.

Yuuri didn't want anyone else to barge in again, so he closed the door behind him and walked to the bed. He stood in front of Wolfram, and lowered his head.

"Wolf."

"What is it?" Wolfram looked up to Yuri and realized how close their faces were.

"Stay like that," said Yuri with a low tone. He grabbed Wolfram's face with both of his hands gently. Yuri lowered his head more, closing in the gap between their face.

"Yu-Yuri?" Wolfram stuttered. His face turned beet red. 'Is he going to kiss me?'

When their lips almost touched, Wolfram closed his eyes, waiting for this long awaited kiss patiently.

But their lips never met.

Their forehead did.

"You still have a fever," said Yuri with a serious look.

Wolfram shoved the man in front of him away roughly—pissed because his dream didn't come true. "Don't get too close, wimp!"

Yuri chuckled lightly at that and brushed Wolfram's hair softly. "You thought that I was going to kiss you, right?"

"I did not!" Wolfram's face reddened even more.

"You did, you did!"

"I did not!" Wolfram stood up from bed and grabbed his sword. He tied it around his waist and walked to the door when he felt a strong hand grabbed his arm.

"Where are you going?"

Wolfram turned back with a confused look. "Where? to train my troops of course, wimp!"

"Didn't you hear what I said? You still have a fever!"

"Not so high. It went down already. I don't think that's a problem."

"No. You should rest more." Yuri dragged Wolfram to the bed and pushed him to sit down.

"I already rested enough for today!"

"Rest more, Wolf."

Wolfram snapped. "I can't leave my troops just because a small fever likes this!"

"Wolf, your fever is still high, your body still warm. True, you've rested enough to be able to get angry and walked around the room, but I doubt that you can stand outside training your troops. It's snowing outside."

"Snowing?" Wolfram turned his head towards the big window, and yes, it was snowing outside.

Wolfram gritted his teeth, he felt defeated. His pride just won't let him.

"I can! And I will!" The blonde stood up from the bed, but Yuri pushed him to sit down again.

"Why are you so stubborn? You're sick!"

"I am fine!"

"You're not!"

Wolfram shuddered when he heard Yuri's tone changed. It was Yuri's voice when he turned into the Maou. The blonde lifted his eyes to look closely at his King, and to be sure that the man in front of him was still the original Yuri—not the Maou—since there was no blue aura wrapped on his body, and his hair was still short.

"Yuri?" Wolfram asked slowly, trying to make sure.

"You stay here. Change your clothes into your nightgown again. I will inform Conrad to take over your troops for today."

Yuri turned and walked towards the door. Seconds later, Wolfram was all alone in the room. He sighed in defeat, Wolfram unbuttoned his jacket and shirt slowly, and then changed into his frilly pink nightgown again.

'Yuri was certainly mad,' Wolfram thought deeply. He flopped down into the bed and buried his face into the soft pillow. 'But why? Because I talk back to him? But it's just a fever! I should be okay!'

Wolfram got up and sat on the bed. He grabbed Yuri's pillow and held it close.

'Why should he care, anyway? He never cared about me. He never cared about my feelings… My love for him… It has been one sided for 5 years now'

The room was so quiet until Wolfram could hear the soft sound of the clock.

'It's quiet,' Wolfram sighed loudly. 'It's lonely. I'm… lonely. I hate this feeling. I don't want to be alone, Yuri…'

—*.*—

To be continued…

A/N : THIS IS THE BETA VERSION!

Thanks to damons-hot-as-hell, as my beta reader! I love you very much! hehehe...

I'm done with the chapter 7, but I think it's better to let my beta reader correct it first, so... well, please wait a little more :D

By the way, I used some Japanese words. If you don't know what they mean, here it is:

Henachoko = Wimp

Tadaima = I'm home

Okaeri = Welcome home

Heika = Your Majesty

Geika = Your Highness (also Great Sage, Murata Ken)

Maou = Demon King (it's Yuri, obviously)

…-kyo = Lord …