[Fic] [Round 17] Could it be?! A Cold Night!, G
Author: The JohhnyMcKilt Productions
Characters/Pairings: T-Zhou/Conrad
Word Count: 1042
Rating: G
Warnings: season 3 time period and references
Theme/Prompt being used: The Ultimate KKM Challenge
A/N: Sorry for any typos or formatting mistakes. :P ...enjoy!xD And yep, my entries are related to each other. That's why they end with a TBC.
He heard a bleat.
Conrad Weller stopped in his tracks and turned about to see a lone sheep in the middle of the hallway.
“T-Zhou,” the brunette beamed. “Joining me on my shift? Yozak's too kind...”
“Could it beee?!” T-Zhou exclaimed and hopped onto Conrad's head, giving him an awkward afro. The man chuckled and continued walking as the sheep vibrated in comfort.
They encountered two soldiers of his colors, who gave their captain a startled salute before rushing off. Besides that, it was a relatively peaceful night.
Conrad yawned widely and T-Zhou made a concerned hum. Chocolate eyes tried to look up at where the animal was and their owner smiled.
“I'll be honest with you,” he began conversationally. “I'm not supposed to be patrolling tonight.”
The sheep 'hmm'-ed shirlly and momentarily blocked the man's vision with his angry upside-down face. Blazing yellow eyes screamed 'Why aren't you asleep then?!'
His comfortable perch stepped back a bit in slight shock, before smiling apologetically. “One night of missed sleep won't kill me...”
T-Zhou bleated something that suspiciously sounded like 'Gwendal' that got Conrad thinking he must be making a reference to the general's wrinkles and chuckled.
“He'll have you sheared.”
That hit home and the woolly pet squee-ed in fright, curling himself into a tighter ball around the brunette's head.
“What has you still up and about?” came the question after a few moments' silence.
T-Zhou's increased vibrating and periodic angry growls implied 'I should be asking you that' but instead he said, “Yuuurii...”
Conrad's eyebrow rose. “You went to see His Majesty? Has he gone to sleep?”
The sheep shook his head, disregarding the fact that the man could not see his gesture. “Woorruuu...”
“Ah. Wolfram's not in yet, I see.”
The brunette fell into deep thought, failing to notice his companion's concerned sounds. Yuuri was truly the understatement of a thoughtful boy. For sure it was impossible for him to sleep soundly amidst the renewed tension within the kingdom. But if they'd want him to get any sleep at all ('they' being his advisers, retainers and all those that cared for his welfare), the boy would have to be reassured that waiting once in a while wasn't such a bad idea and that everything would be easier to tackle in the morning, self-esteem boosts aside.
The person who usually did that was Wolfram, the king's closest confidant other than Conrad much more than the blonde would be likely to admit. But as of that night, he wasn't there...
Conrad couldn't blame his brother, of course. It was unfair to be someone's shock-absorber without having anyone for your own. Besides, everyone in the castle was already in an anxious mood. As far as exaggerations go, they'd all need a sedative if they'd want any sort of shut-eye.
Knowing his god-son, Yuuri would surely be restless, plagued by his self-inflicted insecurities. A pang of guilt grew in Conrad's gut at the realization of his current non-supportive-ness and he stopped walking again.
T-Zhou, who had been dozing off, almost fell from where he was and blinked in surprise. He mewled a worried 'Could it be?' in the captain's ear.
“T-Zhou...” Conrad began with inquiry. “You went to see His Majesty, didn't you?”
The increased frequency of the sheep's vibrations told him that was a 'yes'. The brunette's eyebrows creased together.
“Even if he wasn't asleep, is he alright?” It was a real, honest to gosh question coming from a caring, extremely concerned godfather.
T-Zhou growled, which to Conrad sounded suspiciously like Yozak trying to gurgle out phlegm. The man chuckled, knowing that in the sheep's own dictionary, it meant 'What do you take me for? I barge in the Demon King's room, see him dee-jected and NOT do something to at least make him feel better? Honestly, Lord Weller, you under-estimate me. For that, you shall be my bed for a little while longer...'
With that, the unusual animal wriggled and attached himself more firmly to Conrad's head, severely mussing up his hair.
“Alright, alright T-Zhou,” said the man in calm defeat. “I'm sorry I asked.” His hand reached up to endearingly rub the woolly head, extracting a bleated acceptance of apology.
Conrad sighed and resumed his walking at a slower pace. Well, if Wolfram wasn't there, at least T-Zhou was. Yuuri's anxiety may not have vanished but at least he wasn't drowning in it. Conscience eased, the brunette let his feet take him down the familiar route to his bedroom. A flustered squadron passed them by but he hardly noticed, already content for the night. T-Zhou purred and wriggled more on his head.
The sheep was just about to doze off again when strong, sure hands pried him off his perch and hugged him tightly before settling him down on the floor. Conrad smiled at the question in his fluffy face.
“Thank you for tonight,” he said, halfway through opening the door, and looked down at the sheep seated by it like a patient, inquisitive dog. “It's been a long day and I didn't think I'd get any rest. You should get some too...and please thank Yozak if he sent you.”
T-Zhou 'hmph'-ed in a most Wolfram-esque manner as soon as the bedroom door closed shut. He was an independent sheep, answerable to no one! He was by no means sent by Yozak to accomplish anything either, and as much as he loved the guy, he wasn't going to take any credit for his hard work.
Besides, T-Zhou was only going to sleep until all the damned humans do! They could be so baffling sometimes, intellectutal superiority aside. The simplest solutions to their problems elude them and the only thing they seemingly want to do in life is create problems and drive themselves crazy trying to solve them. Take tonight's case for example.
The sheep could not fathom what exactly would not sleeping do to solve the present problems of the Great Demon Kingdom. As stubborn as they were respectably smart, these restless mazoku (half and pure-breeds) were going to get sleep no matter what!
TBC