Black eyes stared out lustfully from the most adorable, yet sexy face he'd ever seen. He reached for the now twenty year old Maou and the young man dodged playfully. Gwendal growled and reached for the Maou again; again he dodged.

"Yuri..." Gwendal growled softly.

"Gwendal if you love me you'll catch me," Yuri called with a look that Gwendal couldn't deny.

"Yuri, I," Gwendal blushed and looked at the ground.

"Hey, Gwendal, what's wrong?" Yuri paused in front of Gwendal. The older mazoku grinned evilly and tackled the Maou to the ground.

"Gotcha!" He whispered triumphantly before covering any of Yuri's complaints with a passionate kiss. Yuri's response was to much more than Gwendal could have ever expected. He moaned against Gwendal's mouth, tangled his fingers in his hair, and pulled him tighter.

Gwendal's brain fogged over. How many times had he wanted to do this? To hold and be held by a man that he was deeply and passionately in love with? He couldn't help the moan that erupted from his throat or the pounding of his heart.

Gwendal felt an irritating tap on his arm and swatted at the offender. He felt the tap again. This time he leaned back from the Maou and opened his eyes to see Yuri standing beside his bed, not laying down beneath him on the floor. The sun shone brightly through his bedroom window, and Gwendal knew, with not a small bit off horror, that he had slept late again due to that confounded and delicious dream. His face turned beet red. Yuri leaned back, giving Gwendal a weird look. 'Oh no,' Gwendal thought to himself. 'Did I talk in my sleep?'

"Gwendal, are you feeling okay?" Yuri asked tentatively. Gwendal had to fight pulling him down and hugging him with that cute concerned look on his face.

"Yes, Heika, I'm fine. Now if you could please leave the room so I could put some clothes on."

It had been a long standing joke that Gwendal probably slept in the nude, though no one believed that someone as stern as Gwendal would actually sleep with no clothes on. Shock registered on Yuri's face as he realized those rumors were true. His face almost glowed red he was so embarrassed and... what was that other feeling? Excitement? Desire? Yuri panicked and bolted from the room, leaving Gwendal confused at the myriad of looks that flashed across Yuri's face.

Gwendal dressed quickly, still embarrassed that he had overslept. As he neared his office, the sound of a hellacious argument could be heard. Gwendal couldn't make out any of the words until he stood outside of the door. He paused, then thought better of going through the closed door. He didn't want to interrupt what sounded like an interesting argument.

"Wolfram, Papa Yuri doesn't love you, and I know you don't love me. You hate humans, so how could you possibly?" Greta had never sounded so angry.

"Greta, I, that's not fair!" Wolfram yelled back. "You know I love you!"

"No, you only pretended to love me. You thought it would make Yuri fall in love with you. Well, it didn't work. He's really in love with-"

"Greta!" Yuri roared. "You promised you'd never tell." Gwendal stood in shock that Yuri had actually yelled at his daughter. And he was a bit shocked that Yuri was in love with someone. Probably Conrad, Gwendal thought sadly. He knew that his own growing affections would never be returned by the Maou, who was more afraid of him than he let on. His thoughts were interrupted when Yuri spoke again, this time directing his anger at Wolfram.

"As for you, Wolfram, like I just told you: You. And. I. Are. No longer. Engaged. We are done. If you can't understand that, I will have you forcibly removed from the castle."

"You wouldn't dare!"

Gwendal heard scuffling and knew that the guards that were never far from the Maou had grabbed Wolfram to escort the young prince off the castle grounds.

"Let me go! I will leave. But Yuri, you know where my family's lands are. You come get me when you change your mind."

The door flung open and almost hit Gwendal. Wolfram stalked out. Gwendal watched his younger brother leave. A thought struck him and he blushed. The love of his life was not engaged. He was free to pursue!

"Gwendal, come on in. I was just resolving an issue." Yuri coughed and smiled at his own little joke. "We can start on paperwork whenever you're ready."

"Did everything go as planned?"

Yuri grimaced. "Well, at least he didn't burn down the castle."

The corners of Gwendal's mouth twitched up briefly in a smile. The Maou was right. If Wolfram hadn't destroyed or hurt anything, things went well. He walked inside and sat at his usual side of the desk. The two men got right down to work without further conversation. Yuri had been good, for the last year or so, about actually settling down to do paperwork. Gwendal had been almost disturbed, but slightly pleased, that Yuri had approached many months ago to ask him to help him focus to get the work done. Gwendal had of course agreed. The documents had piled up nearly to the ceiling before Yuri had decided to officially "get down to business" as he called it.

Gwendal glanced several times over at Yuri. He thought it was adorable the way his king would chew his lip while reading a document, looking for all the world like the words would jump up and tell him whether to approve or deny whatever request the paper held. Gwendal had his own paperwork to do, so he mentally shook his head at the hormonal way he was acting, and tried to focus. The picture of Yuri chewing his lip and Gwendal kissing it to stop him flashed through the usually stoic General's mind and he growled low in his throat. Yuri jumped at the sudden sound and glanced over at Gwendal. The unreadable look on his face almost scared him. Yuri cleared his throat and Gwendal's face changed to his usual impassive, uninterested look.

"Gwendal, you know traditions and such probably as well as Gunter, right?"

Gwendal tried to read Yuri's mind before answering, knowing he was going to be in for a horrible question if he answered Yuri's. "I believe Gunter and I studied under the same tutor, so yes, I probably know almost as much as Gunter. Why do you ask?"

Yuri blushed. "Well, I- Never mind. It's nothing."

"What is it, Heika? I'm sure I could at least be of a little bit of help." Gwendal wanted to do anything to erase that terribly uncomfortable look on Yuri's face.

"Well, uh, I was wondering about dating in Shin Makoku. What are the traditions for that? If I wanted to show interest in some person, how would I go about doing it?"

It was Gwendal's turn to blush. He would have been even more embarrassed if he knew Gunter stood just out of line of sight, listening to his oldest friend's awkward explanation.

"H-Heika, I, well from what you have talked about, many of the traditions are the same. You spend ample amounts of time with them. You give them gifts that really mean something to you. I've even heard of people writing poems or letters. Once one's affections are know, the couple may engage in se-se- sleeping with one another. It's not really looked down upon here." Gunter had to stifle a giggle. He knew that his friend cared deeply for the Maou and to hear him struggle to say the word sex in front of the king made the conversation even funnier. He cleared his throat and breezed into the room at that point. Both Gwendal and Yuri were sitting there, red-faced, and not looking at each other. He figured now was as good a time as any to break up the hilarious discussion and send Yuri off to practice his swordsmanship with Conrad.

"Conrad's waiting for you down in the courtyard, Heika."

"Okay," Yuri muttered, relieved for the interruption. He shuffled quickly from the room.

"Now what's that look for Gwendal?" Gunter asked with a hint of laughter.

"That boy is going to drive me nuts. He doesn't focus on his work and then he does off the wall things like ask me how to court someone. I just... don't know what to do with that boy."

Gunter waited a few seconds before responding with complete seriousness, all joking aside. "The biggest problem you have, Gwendal, is that you no longer see him as a child. He's become a man right underneath your nose and now that you've noticed, it's become increasingly difficult for you to control your feelings. Before, you could write it off as something you feel for all things small and cute, but now..."

Gunter left the sentence hanging, waiting for a response from Gwendal. He didn't have to wait long.

"You know, Gunter. You're correct. You are always correct. I really do have strong feelings for him. Because of his relationship with Wolfram, I never let myself really examine what I feel, but he just broke it off this morning. I felt relief, joy even, that I had the opportunity to now maybe try to pursue him, but he has feelings for someone. It's going to hurt when he proposes, but I guess that's to be expected with matters of the heart."

Gunter put an arm around his friend to comfort him. "Gwendal, you could try courting him. It wouldn't hurt to give it a shot. Who knows, maybe it's you he loves."

Gwendal shot out of his chair at that point. "Gunter! I do not need that image in my head while I try to be happy for whoever Heika chooses. It'll be bad enough as it is. Besides, I think he's more afraid of me than anything else." Gwendal sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, a sure sign for Gunter that the conversation had ended. He patted Gwendal's arm as he left the office.

TTTTTTTTTTTT

Six weeks went by without any sign of Yuri's new love interest. Rumors flew about who it could be, though no one really had a clue. Love was in the air with several people receiving special gifts. Yozak found a beautiful pair of amethyst earrings laying on his pillow. Anissina had broken her favorite pair of pliers and saw that they had been replaced with a new pair strengthened with majutsu. Even Murata, the Geika himself, had received the most beautiful love poem Gwendal had ever heard. It made him think of how he deeply he felt for Yuri Heika. He had blushed for several hours hearing about that one. Gwendal was growing more depressed with each passing week, wondering which of the three to receive gifts were the love interest of the Maou, since he knew it wasn't him. He had received nothing. Wouldn't everyone be surprised to find that the brave and immovable Gwendal was heartbroken.

Gwendal heard soft laughter outside his office window. One of the maids was trying to pry information about Heika out of Conrad. He gently told her that he didn't know and walked away. Something in his voice made Gwendal think that he was lying. His eye twitched. He'd ask his younger brother himself sometime. Maybe.

He turned in that night much later than usual. He started to undress when he noticed that something was amiss. Looking at the bed, he knew what it was. There, laying on his pillow, was a rolled piece of parchment. His heart thudded in his chest. Maybe Yuri had left him a note. Maybe he was the one that Yuri loved. With a hand that was shaking more that it probably should have, he unrolled the letter and frowned slightly. The delicate, feminine handwriting was most definitely not Yuri's. Gwendal had spent enough time with him over the last year and a half to be able to recognize his chicken scratch. He read the note anyway, curious as to who would have left it.

"Dearest Gwendal, I love you with all my heart. You mean the world to me. I can see through that hard, gruff front you put up. I'm not fooled. You are an incredibly handsome, sweet, gentle person. You are like a bright sun in my otherwise dark existence. My heart pounds in my chest whenever you are near and lately it's been all I can do not to grab you, kiss you, and declare my love in front of everybody. I've decided, however, to do things right. This will be the first of many letters, if you want. To let me know that you are interested, or at least curious as to who I am, leave your hair tie behind the large fountain in the garden. If I find it, a letter will be on your pillow that very night. Until next time, my love goes out to you."

Gwendal stood still barely breathing. He reread the letter three more times for a clue of his admirer. It gave nothing away. He dropped into his chair by the window just as he heard a knock on his bedroom door.

"Gwendal, I hope you're not dressed for bed yet. I really don't need to see all of your anatomy. Warn me if you're not decent."

"I'm dressed, Gunter," Gwendal sighed absentmindedly.

Gunter opened the door and stepped in slowly. "You seemed a little worn out today. I was wanting to know if you'd like to go on a walk to wind down. Oh, who sent you a letter."

Gwendal blushed. "I don't know. It's a secret admirer. Here. Read it and tell me what you think." He waited in tense silence while Gunter read the letter, his face unreadable. His best friend finished the letter and, without speaking, sat in the other chair in the room. Gwendal's impatience won out.

"Well..."

Gunter cleared his throat. "Gwen," Gunter used his friend's nickname to show how serious he was. "You, you must do as the letter asks. It is the only way to see what the next letter brings." He then turned into his usual, exuberant self. "Oh my, who would have thought that my dear Gwendal, rough exterior and all, would be courted by a secret admirer. Though they're probably remaining secret out of fear that you will glower at them and be mean."

He laughed and ducked the ball of yarn Gwendal threw at him. "So about our walk, we could go by that fountain..."

Gwendal blushed. "I... would like that very much."

TTTTTTTTTT

The next day, Gwendal was more irritable than usual. Gunter knew that it was, in part, just his friend being excited about finding another letter tonight on his pillow, but swore to take the discovery of any letter to the grave with him. The other part was the fact that Gwendal's hair dangled in front of his face and in his way without the hair tie to fasten it behind him.

"Damn hair, I should cut it all off," Gwendal muttered under his breath.

"I really hope you don't do that, Gwendal. Your hair looks nice like it is."

Gwendal spun. Yuri stood there with an embarrassed smile on his face. It was afternoon and time for more paperwork, so he had come to see his General, not realizing that he was in a foul mood.

"I'm sorry, Heika, it's just that I'm not used to my hair hanging in my face."

"What happened to your hair tie?"

"I lost it. Somewhere."

In the nearly six years of being in Shin Makoku, Yuri had never known Gwendal to lose or even temporarily misplace anything. Especially something that seemed to be a permanent staple of his wardrobe. Gwendal started to look uncomfortable with Yuri staring at him, so the Maou turned away.

"Which stack should I work on today?"

Gwendal motioned to the far right side of his desk. Those were the ones that needed the Maou's immediate attention. Yuri nodded and pulled a chair close to the stack. Silence seemed to be what Gwendal wanted, so Yuri didn't say a word. He simply started at the top of the stack and worked his way quietly down until there was nothing left. Nighttime had come up abruptly and, happy that he had made it through at least one stack of papers, Yuri stood, stretched, and bid Gwendal goodnight. Gwendal waited for Yuri to turn down the far hallway before walking swiftly to his bedroom.

When he reached his room, a wave of nervousness hit him. What if his admirer didn't find the hair tie? What if they didn't want to write another letter? He mentally shook himself. Where was all this doubt coming from? He usually was so calm and collected about everything, but this had his stomach in an uproar. Gwendal slowly turned towards the bed. He breathed a sigh of relief. There was another letter on his pillow. He picked it up and read it immediately.

"Dearest Gwendal. So you do have a romantic side! I was sincerely hoping that you would leave me your hair tie. You can't believe my joy at having found it this morning. I began this letter almost the minute I got back inside the castle.

I suppose I should tell you what happened to make me fall in love with you. The time that sticks out to me the most is just a few months ago. Some of the troops had come back from a mission that you had sent them on. They surrounded you and told you about the two soldiers that had died in battle. I watched from a window as you told their families what had happened. You even broke down in front of them and cried with them. I knew then that I loved you, body and soul, wholeheartedly. Any man who would care for people that much was a man that I wanted to be with for the rest of my life. Now for the other part of what I love about you. You have the most amazing blue eyes that show your emotions, even if you face gives nothing away. Just looking at them makes me feel like I'm drowning.

Tonight, if you want another letter from me, leave me the one object that's most precious to you at the same spot. Yours until the very end, I love you so much."

Gwendal fought back a smile. Whoever it was, this person really loved him. He looked over at his sword. The one object most precious, huh? Bando-kun was still attached to the end of his sword. That would be the object. That little dolphin had never left his sword. His stomach fluttered at having to give it away, but he knew that he'd have to in order to find out who it was that was leaving these letters. He reached over, removed Bando-kun, and walked outside with determined eyes. The next day passed in a blur. Gunter noticed the lack of the charm and merely raised an eyebrow at his friend. Oh he was curious, all right, but he wasn't going to get in the way of his friend and whoever this secret admirer was.

Yuri also noticed the lack of the key chain and questioned Gwendal about it.

Gwendal's face burned. "I lost it. I'm sorry Heika."

"No worries, Gwendal. I can get you another."

"That's okay, Heika. I already lost the first one you gave me. If I lost a second one, it would be most unfortunate."

Three weeks went by. Each night, he was asked to leave another object and was rewarded the next night with another letter. The person talked about everything under the sun, from why Gwendal meant so much to them to who they were as a person: what hobbies they had, what kinds of things they liked and didn't like, and even more personal things like how many children they wanted to have. The person began leaving trinkets with the letters. Those got put away in the box that Gwendal put the letters in, so he wouldn't lose them. Gwendal grew more and more to love the person in the letters, so when the final letter came asking him to be at the fountain at sundown, he didn't hesitate.

As the sun began to set, Gwendal went to sit out by the fountain. He had only been there for five minutes when he heard a rustling behind him and shifted his weight to turn around. A voice whispered back from the darkness.

"Don't turn around just yet."

Gwendal settled back on his perch by the fountain in response.

"I know you're hoping it's someone in particular that's been leaving these letters." The voice continued to whisper. "Before I reveal myself, care to share you you think it is?"

Gwendal blushed. "I've never exactly told anyone this before. Well, I've talked with Gunter a little bit of how I feel, but he doesn't know fully." He paused, gathering up courage to say who he hoped it to be. "I'm going to feel like an ass if it's not who I'm hoping..."

"Don't worry. I won't be offended."

"For months now, I've thought of no one else. I have dreams at night of us being together. My heart pounds any time they are near. I've pictured these letters being sent by this person and that has made my feelings for them even stronger." His throat threatened to close on him, but he coughed and put his head in hands. "Yuri, I really hope it's you. I've never been good with words, but you have become the most handsome, beautiful man I have ever met. You have become my life. When you are away, my heart feels like it is ripping into a thousand pieces, only to be fixed when you return. You have turned into the king I knew you could be, though I'm still amazed at the fact that you have far exceeded my expectations. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm in love with you."

A thud sounded from behind him and Gwendal turned abruptly. Sitting on the opposite edge of the fountain was a box with all of the objects he'd been asked for. Gwendal's heart dropped. It wasn't Yuri. Yuri wouldn't have led him on like this. Yuri wouldn't have returned all of the things that Gwendal had willingly given. He almost vomited right there by the fountain, but gulped several breaths of air to calm his stomach. He had opened up to loving someone and had his heart crushed. He slowly walked over and picked up the box. After he walked back to his room, each object was put slowly back into it's original place. Gwendal noticed, with a frown, that there was one object missing. His hair tie. Gwendal threw the now empty box against the wall and yelled in frustration. Why had he let himself be hurt? Years of never letting anyone that close and when he finally does hold his heart out for someone, it's tossed away like a piece of garbage. He fell onto the bed without bothering to undress, exhausted emotionally from what had transpired that evening.

Judging by the light outside his window, he had overslept again. This time however, unlike those other times, he pulled the covers over his head and tried to go back to sleep. He didn't want to have to face the day after what had happened last night. Knowing that the paperwork wouldn't do itself, Gwendal groaned and pushed himself out of bed. He dressed in clean clothes and decided to head down to the dining hall. He didn't want to face the one person he was in love with just yet. As it was, Yuri was enjoying breakfast with everyone instead of being in the office like he usually was. Gwendal stopped cold in the doorway, very nearly turning to leave. Yuri hopped up out of his seat and greeted Gwendal with a smile before walking deliberately to him. He stood in front of the older mazoku, doing nothing more than staring deeply into his eyes, but wreaking havoc on Gwendal's heart and stomach.

Then Yuri reached up his right hand. Gwendal thought nothing of it until he noticed one little thing: his hair tie was around Yuri's wrist. His heart threatened to pound out of his chest. Yuri grinned at Gwendal, confusing him even more.

"Gwendal, I did write you those letters. I didn't have the courage to tell you all those things to your face because I didn't know how you felt about me until last night. Last night, I, well, I'm sorry if I hurt you. I just wanted to be able to propose in front of everyone. That way you know I'm serious and not just some punk kid playing games with your heart."

Suddenly, without speaking any more, Yuri slapped Gwendal's left cheek. Gwendal stood, stunned at what was happening. He reached up and touched his stinging cheek, looking around at all of the people watching them. His mother, Gunter, and even Yozak looked to be close to tears. Geika was smiling his approval at him. Conrad, Yuri's godfather and protector, pinned him with a stare as if to say "You'd better not hurt my boy or you'll regret it." Gwendal then looked down at the man himself.

"Yuri," Gwendal began. What would he say to him? How could he tell the love of his life exactly how he felt? A thought struck him and he knew. The best and greatest way to accept a proposal was for the one that was slapped to seal it with a kiss. Gwendal bent his head down and kissed the Maou full on the lips. He almost pulled away when he felt Yuri's arms slide up around his neck. His own arms slid around Yuri's waist and pulled his intended tight against him. The kiss would have lasted forever, but Yozak started catcalling and whistling at the newly engaged couple. They pulled away from each other, blushing and grinning shyly. Gwendal was more glad than ever that he decided to come down for breakfast and vowed mentally to never miss another.

So, what did you think? I have begun to really love Yuri and Gwendal together, and couldn't resist writing a story for them. However, even though they are happily together and engaged, what would a love story be without pain and disaster (especially when Yuri seems to be a magnet for trouble and danger.) Next chapter, Yuri is kidnapped and we get to see a side of Gwendal that is rarely seen. As always, I do not own KKM or it's characters, just what I do to them. Thank you all for reading and I hope to see you next time!