Kyou Kara Maou Fan Fiction ❯ Sunshine ❯ Tears ( Chapter 1 )

Sunshine

 

Disclaimer: Kyou Kara Maou does not belong to me and I make no money from this work of fanfiction at all

Pairings/Warnings: Conrad and Wolfram- incest.

A/N: This is my first foray into fanfiction incest. I have RP'ed it, being a sick cookie. This will be a challenge for me, but for some reason I can see those two together. Why? I'm a sick cookie.

 

 

Conrad woke up cold, smelling tears on his pillow.

The body that had been there that night- he could barely remember the feel against his. It was small and warm and had been dreadfully familiar- yet in the light of day he could barely remembered not being alone.

All that was left was the scent of tears beside him, and the heady fragrance of “Conrad Stands on the Earth”.

He wasn't quite sure who had left those.

Maybe he had been dreaming the whole thing. He maybe it was his own tears on his pillow, wishing for the warmth of a body that had never joined him in bed.

“You're leaving again?” a hoarse voice cracked and Conrad looked up to see his little brother standing there in the door.

“Ah,” Conrad answered, voice dull. “I've been summoned to the Palace of the Original King. Ulrike-sama wishes to speak with me.”

Wolfram crossed his arms, sniffing and looking affronted. Conrad wondered at times where his sweet little brother had gone.

Maybe it had gone to the same place as his soul.

Conrad didn't care.

Wolfram opened his mouth, but Conrad cut him off.

“Shut up Wolfram. For once in your life, don't be a little brat.” The blonde's eyes were wide with shock at his words. “Just shut up.”

The blonde's hands clenched and unclenched, and for the first time Conrad noticed that his eyes were red rimmed.

Only later did it occur to Conrad that Wolfram had come to say goodbye.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

He missed being warm.

Whoever, or whatever, had kept his bed warm during his recovery before he'd left for “Earth” was obviously no longer here, and his dreams were hellish.

Ironically he wished his brothers were with them. He missed Gwendal's obsessive knitting and Wolfram's tart comments.

He frowned, briefly, thinking that it was odd while he was holding Julia's soul, that he could find no comfort.

Conrad sat up, thinking about his odd journey with Jose Rodriguez.

The “United States” was large, and it smelled strange, as they headed to the “West Coast” to wherever it was they needed to go.

His mind drifted over what it would have been like, to travel with his brothers. Gwendal would have been quiet while Wolfram would have been spouting questions.

The old Wolfram would have. He sighed softly, thinking of how things would have changed. The little boy who would follow his older brother around… was gone. He couldn't keep mourning him.

Whose fault was it in the end? Conrad couldn't say.

Falling back against the strange bed, he stared up at the ceiling. The first traces of dawn had started to slide across the wall, and the bright light reminded him of…

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Little Conrad held the tiny, blanket wrapped bundle to his chest. The red faced, gold haired, green eyed baby, wrapped in blue, was staring at him with the grumpiest expression this side of Gwendal.

His mother was on the bed, shaking from cold and exhaustion, eyes shut as she drifted in and out of sleep.

He had no idea how to feel right then.

Here was the proof that his mother had loved someone else besides his father; and he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt how much they adored each other. Yet his mother had decided… for some reason… to have another baby.

“Is it because I'm half human?” he asked softly. His mother stirred, her glassy green eyes peering at him. “Why did you-?”

Celi sighed, opening her arms to him.

Conrad shook his head. For once, he did not think a hug or the comfort of her bosom could make him feel better.

“I was lonely,” she said quietly. “I needed to hold another baby in my arms.”

Conrad swallowed, turning from her to go back to contemplating the small warm thing he was holding.

His father would often tell him about how beautiful his mother was; he knew this already, but he had wanted something so beautiful to call his own.

The baby blinked sleepily, yawning, and opened his eyes again, eyes dimly focusing on his.

Then he smiled, and Conrad felt a hand gently wrap itself around his heart. Maybe he could understand now, how his father still loved his mother…

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

 

Conrad rode in the `car', absently watching the soul of Julia as it floated serenely in its bottle. A perfect white sphere; it was amazing how she could so completely accept the dictates of the Original King.

He could only imagine who his own soul would look.

Tilting his head, he listened to Rodriguez sing along with a music maker called a `radio' as they drove along. Anissina would have adored this world.

Wolfram, he thought, looking at Julia's soul, would probably be a triangle. A sphere was far too calm for him.

He never accepted anything in his life.

Frowning he thought about their last meeting before he left. The boy had looked rough; his hair was tousled, eyes red… Had he been crying? For what? Wolfram would never cry- never admit he cried. Why had he been there in his room?

He knew Conrad was leaving… was it possible he had been there to say goodbye?

Running his hand through his hair with a gusty sigh, he noticed Jose cut his eyes at him then back to the road. The man was good at letting him brood and not asking unwanted questions.

Conrad lost himself in thought again.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

“Little big brother!” a voice chirped, and young Conrad reached out to catch Wolfram as he fearlessly dived into his big brother's waiting arms.

“Whoa!” Conrad laughed, barely hauling him upwards. Up until recently, the human aging had not been noticeable. Then Conrad had started to shoot upwards…

Wolfram just grinned toothily. “I knew you would catch me.”

Conrad rolled his eyes. “But what if I didn't?”

“You did, didn't you?” the blond boy answered carelessly. “Because Conrad never misses.” He wrapped himself around Conrad's waist when he put him down.

Conrad attempted to pry him off.

“No!”

Conrad blinked. “Wolfram?”

“Little big brother will be going soon so now Wolfram gets you!”

The brown haired boy sighed and shook his head. “But my father is teaching me- he needs me, Wolfram.”

Wolfram pouted. “Wolfram needs you too!”

Prying his arms off, Conrad knelt before the little Mazoku. “I can't stay.”

Wolfram didn't seem appeased, his little lip sticking out. “Why do you always leave Wolfram?”

“My father and I travel a lot. He wants me with him, that's all.”

Wolfram nodded, unhappy. It wasn't that he didn't normally fight this- each and every time, he had a terrific screaming fit- but this time he just looked sad.

“Little big brother?”

Conrad gaped when Wolfram threw himself again into Conrad's arms, planting a wet kiss on his lips.

“What did you do that for?”

“Mother says you should only kiss people you love, and I love you best. I should kiss you, right?”

Conrad put his hand to his mouth, staring. “You should kiss people you love, right,” he mumbled.

“You promise to always come back for Wolfram?”

Conrad opened his mouth, and then nodded, swallowing the lump in his throat. Who else but Conrad looked after Wolfram?

Who looked after Wolfram when Conrad wasn't there?

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Japan was very different from the United States in his opinion; far more crowded, and filled with people who had black eyes and black hair. It was somewhat unnerving.

The Shibuya's looked like a good family to leave Julia's soul with. He was obligated to see the baby born, but that was nine months from now…

Now he had to live.

It was odd, how that was the hardest thing of all.

“Well, you could always be a professional athlete of some kind,” Rodriguez had said, when he'd asked about what he should do in the meantime. “Or teach.”

The darker man was thinking, tapping his chin with his thumb, while Conrad went through the many facts given to him by Rodriguez machine. “Well, you could become a professional fencer…”

Conrad's eyebrow twitched. That was an odd thought.

“Well, you could give it a go. It would give you a chance to see this world, travel around, and get that stick out of your ass.”

Conrad's eyebrows flew up to his hairline. This was the first time Jose had ever, ever made such a comment.

“What? You think I hadn't noticed? I know you lost your girlfriend-“

“She wasn't my-“

“I know what you said. But I also know you've been through a lot and you need to get over it. Find someone else to love- you don't have to replace your lady friend but geeze… Man, its not like you can love only one person in your life.”

Conrad grunted.

“You've got people who would be very sad if you died- and don't give me that look. Everyone has a few.”

Conrad shifted uncomfortably.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Time did heal all wounds, as bad as the cliché was.

Perhaps time would heal this one, Conrad thought, watching the baby boy in the small carriage, cooing next to his mother. He knew Julia would be loved here.

The past year had been… cathartic. There was no war between humans and Mazoku here. He could just be Conrad; not the queen's half human son. No obligations beyond teaching his students or the thrill of a fencing match.

Looking down at the cooing baby, he remembered Jose's words about finding someone else to love.

Suddenly he felt homesick. He missed the little brother who would crawl into his bed after a nightmare, or would be so eager to show him his latest sword move. He missed the home he had before Wolfram had found out he was human.

He smiled at the baby again- yes, this was truly the best place for Julia's soul; in a world where humans and Mazoku intermingled and married and could be happy together.

Taking the little yellow duck when it was offered to him, Conrad turned away.

Yellow. Like Wolfram's hair…

He swallowed. There was another wound he did not know if time could heal.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

“You're father was a human,” a small voice piped up behind him.

Conrad's shoulders hunched, and turned around slowly to look at the small blond boy. His normally bright green eyes were shadowed in fear and loathing and denial.

“Yes. I am both human and Mazoku,” he repeated slowly. Internally he berated himself. He knew what people said about humans here, in the capital. They were people who had never met humans before in all their long lives.

And he was gone so often… and he had never told his precious brother the truth…

“You lied to Wolfram,” the boy said, voice trembling. “You were never Wolfram's brother, were you?”

Conrad felt cold.

“No- I'm still your brother-“

“Your father made Mother cry,” Wolfram went on. “Are you going to make me cry too?”

Conrad shook his head. “No- no, Wolfram, I would never make you cry-“

“Liar! You aren't my brother! Conrad lied to Wolfram! Everyone lies to Wolfram!” He was hysterical. “You were my brother but you're human!” He started to pull on his hair, face turning purple. “You aren't my brother! You left me!”

The boy fell to the floor, screaming bloody murder and pounding his feet. “You- you aren't my brother!”

Conrad tried to grab him- tried to calm him down. He tried to do something-

But his brother didn't calm down until Gwendal arrived, his expression apologetic, as if to say “How was I supposed to know it was this bad?”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

After that, there were no more spontaneous hugs, or endless rounds of questions, or sword drills, or hero worship. Just cold antagonism in public, and avoiding Conrad in private.

Only now with time and distance did the older man notice a few things off.

Wolfram would model Conrad- wearing his old hair style, and the exact same shade of blue in his old uniform. He had felt Wolfram's eyes on him during sword practice. He had seen him do the exact same drills, over and over again.

Frowning… he wondered, maybe, if his sweet little brother had gone to the same place as his soul: buried beneath layers of hide to protect it until it could heal.

With a twinge of guilt, he realized he had betrayed his brother's trust. If he had been honest from the beginning, perhaps this would never have happened. Yet it was a foolish thing to wish for. His brother had betrayed him as well by not loving him enough to see through his prejudice.

What was left for his family?

He stared at his bags, but while they held clothes, answers weren't there. He was getting ready for his return trip… and he was taking only a few things with him. His baseball glove (and his love the Boston Red Sox), a yellow ducky… Julia's necklace had never left his neck…

“Almost ready?” Rodriguez called.

“Yes!” he answered, putting everything away. It was nearly time for him to be going.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Home.

How strange that word felt.

The Palace of the Original King was unchanged and unchangeable as he surfaced in the pond- he was immediately surrounded.

Since they were expecting him, there wasn't much trouble getting out of the pool (all in one piece that is).

“Did you deliver the Maou's soul safely?” Ulrike asked later, her eyes calm.

Conrad wished that she wouldn't ask questions she didn't know the answers to already.

“Yes. She has been reborn as Shibuya Yuuri.”

“Good. All that remains is to wait the remaining years until he is old enough to bring here,” Ulrike said softly. “It has been nearly four years since you have left, here, Conrad Weller-kyo. Your family has been informed of your task, and I thank you for your service on behalf of the Original King.”

That was a dismissal if he ever heard one; Conrad rose to his feet, bowing again before turning to leave the room.

It was a bit unnerving to know that it had been so long since he had left. While two years had passed since his arrival on Earth, that time had moved so differently here… Worry over what had happened to his family gnawed on his stomach. Gwendal could take care of himself, and his mother was wily enough to charm her way out of anything- but Wolfram-

All was quiet as he approached Blood Pledge Castle. The gardens in the front were still in ill repair, but the Conrad Stands on the Earth were blooming, as well as a few others. Beautiful Wolfram was struggling through the brambles.

Why did that break his heart?

The guards had been shocked to see him- apparently no one had been told of his arrival. Though it could wait- he would find his room on his own and announce himself in the morning. Knowing Gwendal and his mother, they would need the good night's sleep.

He crept back to his room, opening the door slowly. To his surprise… his room was clean. It was not stuffy, well aired, and the sheets on his bed were fresh. Someone had been taking care of it.

Putting down his bag, he dropped on the blankets and closed his eyes, mind barely registering the scent of tears and flowers.

 

 

To be continued.

A/N: The relationship stuff starts next chapter. This was hard to write. As it is, I'm trying to lay the ground work of their relationship… which is difficult in its own right.