Shirahime (shirahime) wrote in taintedquill, @ 2007-08-06 22:46:00 |
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Entry tags: | adelbert/yuuri, kyou kara maou |
This Time Around, Part Three
Title: This Time Around, Part Three
Author: Shirahime
Pairing: Adelbert/Yuuri
Rating: eventual NC-17
Summary: Spoilers for early Season Two. After the revelations exposed by his rival, Adelbert decides what he is willing to do for the sake of what he once thought was lost.
Part Three
In the small room on the boat, Yuuri sat on the bunk to one side of the area, his knees drawn up to his chest as he hugged them. He could feel the sway and rock of the boat as they traveled to a destination unknown to him or the friends he’d left behind. He wasn’t sure how much time had passed, but judging by the position of the sun, it was probably around noon. The teen sighed. He could just imagine that by now, Gwendal was rallying their ships in pursuit. But would they even know where to look? And even if they did, could they catch up given the head start that Adelbert had? Just when it seemed that the blonde was on better terms with his homeland, he had to go and do something so reckless.
Yuuri heard a key turn in the lock before the door opened, revealing Adelbert balancing a tray in one hand. He placed it on a low table nearby. “I brought you something to eat. You’re probably getting hungry by now.”
Yuuri didn’t answer, eying him suspiciously. “It’s not poisoned,” the blonde added, smirking. Noticing that Yuuri didn’t appreciate his humor, he sighed. “You know, I’m doing this for your own good. You should appreciate all the trouble that I’m going through for you. You may not see it that way now, but you’ll come to understand soon enough.”
Yuuri groaned. “Being locked up in this room reminds me of one of those old movies where the princess gets kidnapped by bandits.” He frowned, “She usually ends up getting ravished or something by the end, though.”
Adelbert smirked. “If I knew that this was what you were waiting for, I could have obliged you earlier.”
A flustered Yuuri waved his hands in protest. “No! That’s not… I mean…”
“I’m teasing you, boy,” Adelbert reassured him. “I’ve never been that type of man.”
“You didn’t really seem like it,” Yuuri remarked, rubbing the back of his neck. “My imagination just gets away with me sometimes.” He turned dark eyes upward to gaze into blue. “But why did you kidnap me?”
Adelbert shook his head slightly as he smiled. “This isn’t a kidnapping. It’s a rescue.”
Yuuri sighed, turning to swing his legs over the edge of the bunk to plant feet onto the floor. He ran a hand through his hair in frustration. “We’ve been through this already. I chose to become Maou-”
“Only after being brainwashed by them,” Adelbert interjected. He moved to kneel in front of the teen, taking Yuuri’s hand in his larger one. “Those people have no will of their own. Everything that they do is for Shinou. What kind of king orders a woman in her prime to give up her life, and for what? Shouldn’t a king care for his people more than that?” As Yuuri frowned and turned away, Adelbert squeezed gently on his hand, causing the boy to look at him again. Adelbert’s eyes were intense. “As Maou, would you ever use an innocent woman’s life – for any purpose?”
Dark eyes shimmering, Yuuri looked away. He didn’t trust himself to answer. He… he wasn’t the type of ruler who was able to sacrifice others, even if it was for a greater good. He doubted if he could ever become such a person. Maybe this was what made him weak. “I can’t really… I don’t have Shinou’s wisdom. Maybe there was no other choice. Maybe it had to be her.”
Yuuri forced himself to look into Adelbert’s eyes. He knew that his words might hurt the man, but they had to be said. “Aren’t… aren’t you doing this because of memories that you don’t want to let go of? I’m not Julia. I don’t remember what the two of you had together.” He saw Adelbert harden his expression, but could tell that sorrow lay beneath. “All I know is that she loved you very much. I don’t know how I can say this, but I just feel it. But you can’t keep me near you because of who I used to be.” He pulled his hand out of Adelbert’s grasp. “This is so weird. I’m not even a girl!”
Adelbert closed his eyes, taking a deep breath and exhaling before fixing the boy with his piercing gaze. “It doesn’t matter,” the man told a surprised Yuuri. “You’re still the good and kind person that I fell in love with, just… different. You don’t remember… but we can make new memories together.”
Yuuri tried not to stiffen as Adelbert grasped his shoulders, gently but firmly. “I understand now,” the blonde continued. “You thought that it would be hard for me to still love you if you weren’t the same, that it would bring me pain to know what had truly happened to you. That’s why you didn’t choose me to carry your soul. Even in your final acts, you were still thinking of me. But I’m not so weak that I can’t still love you.” He perked up, voice insistent. “And you were willing to accept my love when the two of us were alone yesterday.”
Yuuri blushed at the memory of the passionate kiss they’d shared in the forest the day before. “I… I don’t know why I let that happen,” Yuuri murmured softly.
More heat seemed to rise to his face as he gazed at Adelbert who now showed him a gentle smile that had been reserved for only one other. “In your heart, you do know why,” the blonde remarked softly. Yuuri had no answer to that.
After a moment, Adelbert began to chuckle, then moved to embrace the startled teen. “It’s so funny, now that I remember,” Adelbert said, the sound of his voice slightly muffled against Yuuri’s neck. “I’ve never been good with women, you see. I never know what to say to please them. I always used to tell Julia that I didn’t understand women and their ways. One day, she turned to me and asked, ‘Would it be better for you if I was a man?’ I just laughed then, but now, look at us!”
Adelbert pulled back to look at Yuuri, raising a hand to cup his cheek. A thumb stroked the nervous teen’s lower lip. “All you need is time away from those people to make a real choice about your own life,” the blonde told him. “Then you’ll realize the same truth of things that I did long ago.”
“The others are sure to come for me, Adelbert,” Yuuri told him when he was able to find his voice.
The blonde smiled, planting a quick kiss on Yuuri’s lips before rising. “Let me worry about that. I’m going back on deck. Eat your lunch before it gets cold.”
Yuuri watched the man go, sighing at the familiar sound of a key turning in the lock.