Happy V-day Galerian_ash!!
Title:The First Time
Name of Recipient:
galerian_ash
Pairings/Characters: Adalbert x Yuuri
Rating: G/PG
Warnings: Character Death
Disclaimer: Not mine. Never was and sadly never will be.
Original Request: Adalbert x Yuuri
"The first time." Interpret it however you want; first kiss, first argument, first time Adalbert realized he loved Yuri, first time Yuri threw a snowball at Adalbert, etc.
Summary: Snowballs start off slowly down a hill, but they pick up speed as they go until they can't be stopped. It's the same for Yuuri and Adalbert.
A/N (if applicable): I enjoyed writing this one, though it was a bit of a challenge for me. I don’t usually ship or read this couple, but I still had a lot of fun doing it! This is actually the second story I wrote for this challenge. The first story was terrible and not worthy of becoming a gift, so I scrapped it and wrote this in hopes it would be better. And I think it came out much better, though it would have been nice to have had the time for another couple of edits... Still, I hope you enjoy! Happy Valentine's Day
galerian_ash
It had happened gradually.
The first time Adalbert had met Yuuri, he had hated him. Black hair that marked his fate and black eyes that could see that fate, this boy with a quick foolish grin held everything that Julia both had and hadn't. He was even wrapped in the same chains as her, but he at least had a chance to break those chains. Hate made Adalbert simply want to destroy him for being so like her and the leader of the nation which killed her, but pity had also risen up. It was an emotion Julia had taught him and one this boy brought out in him. She had loved her country, given her life for it. They were going to train this boy to do the same, to suffer the same fate as she did. Adalbert found he couldn't let that happen. Not only would it mean that he couldn't have revenge on the same monarchy that had murdered his beloved, but this boy was just someone Julia would have liked. This child was open and innocent, everything the Mazoku destroyed on a daily basis.
The pity he felt was destroyed on their second meeting and all he was left with was hate until Conrad finally told him. Yuuri contained Julia's soul. His Julia. In this young fool. Adalbert was disgusted, but he could no longer hate. He was frustrated for the loss of his revenge (He had been so close!), but hate had no more place in his heart for the boy king of Shin Makoku. How could it? Adalbert could not hate anyone who held a piece of his Julia. So he wandered away, for the first time unsure of his future.
It took Adalbert nearly fifty years to find his future again.
When he first heard Wolfram was dead, Adalbert wasn't anywhere near Shin Makoku. He didn't even try to return, knowing the blond Consort was most likely already long since buried. Adalbert waited a year to return, finding the now two-year widower still grieving for his late husband.
Yuuri was thin and pale, his eyes dulled from the vibrant dark gems they had been when Adalbert had first found him so many years before. His smile, though as quick as ever, was weaker and softer than it had been in his youth. He looked like he had exchanged white bedsheets for skin in the black uniform that had only minimally changed since he was first made king.
Adalbert felt his heart break just as it had when he had first heard that Julia had died.
"Your Majesty," Adalbert said, his voice polite and devoid of the sympathetic pain he felt. His eyes darted to meet the wary stares of Yuuri's normal court: Conrad, Gwendal, Gunter, and Murata. He nodded to each in turn before turning his full attention back on the king. "I'm sorry for you loss. And for not returning sooner."
"You didn't need to," Yuuri told him, cutting off a comment Gunter tried to make. His voice was low and thready from his still raw emotions. The king of Shin Makoku felt everything intensely. "I'm sorry enough for everyone. Hearing others say it...just makes it worse."
Adalbert nodded in understanding. "Yes. I mean it, however, and needed to say it at least once."
Yuuri smiled weakly and stood. He made his way down from the raised dais of the throne and over to stand in front of Adalbert. Adalbert noted that Yuuri moved slowly, as though he were bone weary, and his once smooth face now showed all the lines his life had earned him.
"It's nearly time for dinner. Will you join us? I would like to hear how you've been the last few decades."
A small smile crept over Adalbert's face as he nodded. "As you wish, Your Majesty."
“Call me Yuuri,” the king said as he smiled up into Adalbert’s face.
Adalbert inclined his head as he replied again, “As you wish… Yuuri.”
Adalbert joined Yuuri for dinner that night, and every night for several weeks after. Time passed quickly for him and he spent most of it with Yuuri when the king wasn't in his office or having an audience. One dinner, however, Adalbert looked up and realized that he no longer saw or thought of Julia when he looked at the younger Mazoku. Neither did he see the boy Yuuri once was. He did see a happy smile on his face again, and a Mazoku who had faced tragedy and adversity many, many times only to come out the stronger each time.
Yuuri sat across from him, his eyes sparkling as his youngest daughter, Madeleine, rambled on about her latest lesson with Auntie Annissina. His smile was full and strong again, his color was finally returning, and his movements were once again strong and sure. Yuuri's voice was gentle, but firm as he chided his daughter's pranks on Gunter. He was nothing like Julia or his old self. He was better. He was perfect in Adalbert's eyes.
That was when Adalbert realized he loved Yuuri.
Adalbert felt the blood drain from his face. He dropped his spork into his soup and stared down at the light green splatter it made on the white tablecloth. He was in love with the man he had tried to kill as a boy. The very same king who held his old love's soul.
"Are you alright, Adalbert?"
Adalbert's head snapped up to meet Yuuri's concerned gaze. He let his eyes drift about the table to the stares of the others and swallowed as he realized that this was a very bad idea. He had lost his appetite, and even if he was still hungry, Adalbert didn't think he could eat with Yuuri so near and his emotions so close to the surface.
"Sir von Grantz?" Conrad's voice contained the most concern that Adalbert had ever heard it hold for him.
Nodding, Adalbert pushed back his chair. "I'm fine. I'm afraid I'm suddenly no longer hungry, though. If you wouldn't mind, Your Majesty, I believe I would prefer to lie down for an hour or two."
Yuuri nodded, though Adalbert could see he was dying to say something more. Luckily, he made it out of the room before Madeleine could voice her father's question, which made it very easy to ignore.
He did not spend the next hour sleeping. He gathered up his things and packed them away, hoping he could escape that night after everyone had gone to bed. Adalbert took extra special care of the items Yuuri and his children and grandchildren had given him during his stay. He wrapped each one in a cloth or item of clothing, then tucked it into the packed corners and nooks so that none of it would be broken. He was just on the last one, a blue-grey pebble Madeleine and her twin brother, Karl, had given him during a picnic.
Adalbert couldn't help but smile at the little stone. The twins had been so happy when they gave it to him. They'd both inherited their father's goofy smile and mirth-filled eyes. He only hoped that they would have better success at keeping it than their father had.
Sighing softly, Adalbert let the stone drop into a breast pocket in his uniform, letting his mind hear the gleeful laughter of the two once again.
"They were really proud that they'd found that, you know."
Adalbert whirled to find Yuuri in the doorway, staring at him with unfathomable eyes. Adalbert looked away, not wanting the other to see the guilt in his eyes.
"They were even prouder that you had liked it." Yuuri moved further into the room and closed the door softly behind him. "What happened? Did we do something wrong? Why are you leaving us so suddenly?"
"I-I can't stay here any longer," Adalbert said, shaking his head. "It's nothing you did. I simply...cannot burden you with my presence any longer."
"You're not a burden." Yuuri's voice was tired again, and very sad. "You have to know that after everything we've done in the past few months."
Adalbert closed up his bag and slung it over his shoulder. "I have to leave, Yuu- Your Majesty. It's for the best."
"No, it's not!" Yuuri's eyes flared and flashed in fury. "It's not the best for me and it's not the best for my children. We've all, everyone in the castle, but especially my family, come to care about you. How can you just up and leave us?"
"I can't stay here any longer! Why can't you understand that? You haven't changed at all, you're still just a boy!"
Yuuri recoiled from Adalbert's angry outburst, but then he seemed to shake himself and set his jaw. "And you have? You're just running away from yourself again!"
"I'm going home! They need me there!"
"This is your home! It's where you were born and where--" Yuuri stopped suddenly, his face coloring. When he spoke again, his voice was much calmer than it had been. "Stay. Please?"
The urge to give in and agree nearly tore Adalbert apart. So he shook his head, set his jaw, and started forward, fully intending to shove past Yuuri if needed.
Suddenly, there were lips on his, pressing hard and wet as they tried to coax his into a response. A warm weight against his front followed quickly after, along with arms that encircled his shoulders. Adalbert gasped and a tongue darted inside to taste him before the kiss finally broke.
"W-What," Adalbert stammered after a moment.
"Please, don't go."
Adalbert stared down into Yuuri's fathomless black eyes, his heart moved by the softly spoken, heartfelt words like nothing else could move it. He swallowed, closed his eyes, and kissed Yuuri again, this time throwing all of himself and more into it. When they pulled back again, they were panting and Yuuri's lips looked deliciously plump. In fact, with the healthy, happy glow the other emitted, Adalbert thought he looked absolutely divine. So he kissed Yuuri again, and stayed the rest of his life.