Work Text:
Wolfram was late for breakfast.
Considering the way the man constantly found a reason to be on Yuuri's ass about one thing or another, the least he could do was extend the courtesy of punctuality, especially on the one time the Maou had decided to wake up on time of his own volition.
So here Yuuri was, eating breakfast at the unnecessarily large dining table with Gwendal, Conrad, and Lady Celi. It was eerily reminiscent to his first day in Shin Makoku, although he usually tried not to remember the way that particular meal had ended.
Gwendal looked like he’d rather be anywhere else (although he usually looked like that), Conrad had that gentle, neutral expression on his face (Yuuri recognized this demeanor as his “ready to slap a bitch” face and wondered who’d managed to irritate him this early in the morning), and Lady Cecilie… she was smiling, but not the cute smile you see from mothers and puppies, no, this was the kind of vaugely evil grin that one would see on lawyers and sharks.
“Yuuri, isn’t it nice having dinner with your soon-to-be in-laws?”
Yuuri choked. Lady Celi tutted. “Your Majesty, do you not enjoy our company? Or is it just that you’re nervous without my dearest son?”
Yuuri blushed. "Th-that's not what I meant."
"Of course, your majesty," said Conrad, a placating smile on his face that did absolutely nothing to tamp down the younger’s embarrassment.
Lady Celi decided to take pity on him and change the conversation topic. "Those two are still plenty young. They've got plenty of time to figure out their lives,” she said, taking a sip from her champagne flute. She flicked her eyes to the left of Yuuri’s seat. "But what about you, Conrad dear?"
Conrad frowned for a moment at the abrupt change of subject before he slid on his usual mask of composure. "I'm not quite sure what you mean, Mother."
She tossed her hair over her shoulder innocently, looking every bit the caring mother, but there was a glint in her eye. "Come now, dear. Don't play coy; it stopped being cute after you hit 50. Don't you think it's time you settled down?"
Conrad straightened (Yuuri wasn't sure how that was possible, considering the man's spine was constantly perpendicular to ground level) and cleared his throat, looking slightly ruffled. "I'm occupied protecting His Majesty."
Yuuri gave him an exasperated look. “Conrad. You don’t have to sacrifice your social life for my sake! I can take care of myself.”
Conrart gave him a neutral (What was with the stupid neutrality? They were supposed to be German-adjacent, not Swiss!) stare that conveyed exactly how much he believed that statement.
Cecilia sighed. "Darling, that excuse may have worked on me a few decades ago. Both your brothers have found solace in love, isn’t it about time you do the same?” she asked, eyes sparkling.
The only indication of Gwendal’s discomfiture at the mention of his engagement to Anissina was expressed by a pointed cough.
Again, Yuuri blushed, briefly contemplating the value of protesting Lady Celi’s statement regarding Wolfram’s affections, then decided against it (were they fooling anyone but themselves?).
“Mother, I highly doubt Gwendal and Anissina’s…relationship…can be attributed solely to love,” remarked Conrad very carefully, not remotely fazed by the glare his older brother was sending in his direction.
Lady Celi chuckled. “Love and science, then. They aren’t mutually exclusive, you know,” she said, aiming a glance at Yuuri, who blanched.
I believe “explosions” and “fear” are better qualifiers than "science" in this particular scenario.
“Whatever happened to that nice mermaid that Gwendal told me about?”
“You dated a mermaid?” Yuuri had a distant recollection of a story involving said “Tuna-chan.”
“No, she was a maidmer.”
The discussion was rapidly approaching foreign territory. The shine in Celi’s eyes was becoming significantly brighter at the same rate as Conrad’s facial muscles were progressively becoming more strained.
Yuuri coughed, silently apologizing to his godfather. “You know what? I should go find Wolfram and make sure he’s alright.”
“How is Adalbert these days?”
Yuuri fled down the hall before he could catch the tail end of that conversation.