Disclaimer: I do not own Valvrave the Liberator or any of its characters. I just own my feels after watching the last episode.

Warning: Yaoi fic. MPREG. Slightly AU from canon. Heavily implied smut scenes.

Rating: M for this chapter

Pairing: Tokishima Haruto X L-Elf (Mikhail), L-Elf X Lieselotte. A-Drei X Saki. One-sided Haruto X Saki. One-sided Tokishima Haruto X Shoko.

A/N: This is a fic born out of frustration from the last episode having tons of questions unanswered. I'll try to keep to canon as much as I can, but at some point the plot is going to deviate. Also, do take note that some chars who are supposed to die may not be dead.

Guess who's back~

I apologise for the delay. As mentioned, there was a total standstill in fic writing during the assignment period, and it took me a while to regain the momentum. (I'm not even going to get started on having to rewrite half of the chapter. Damn you, BSOD!). In return, enjoy this monster of a chapter. :p

I would like to thank all readers for your patience and kind reviews. I will try to update, but it will not be frequent. Next assignment submission is in September, and my schedule will be packed until then. When that is over, hopefully I'd have time to type.

Oyuu, ehehe. Yeah. As much as I would love for them to have a second child, I'll try not to let my inner fangirl take over. My main purpose for starting this fic is merely to fill in plotholes in the anime, not to change too much of it. I will still go according to the scenes in the anime. Thanks for the review~

nekomimi, Glad you like the two parenting styles. As to when L-Elf will finally admit that he's in love with Haruto…I suppose that will happen when he does fall in love with Haruto. Who knows how many decades later that will be. They will be grandmas and grandpas first. XD. Thanks for the review~

guest, it's interesting that you mentioned that. This chapter will provide the answer to that question. :p. Thanks for the review~

Cake, yay! Someone from Germany! (I will totally be asking you for clarification on some of the terms then. :p. Kidding, kidding.). I dislike it when characters get out of character. It's a bit of an insult to the original writer of the series, so I do try to minimise OOC-ness. Sometimes it still happens though (especially when the inner fangirl takes over). I'm not too sure if the "godparents" mentioned in the anime is a religious term though. Considering it's in Japanese, it strikes me more as a second parent than a 'godparent', per se. Thanks so much for your review~

Sakkiri, I apologise for the wait. Thanks so much for your review. Enjoy the update~

I'd like to clarify something in this fic in general. Please take note that when I started the fic, I had full intentions to only fill in loopholes left by the anime, not change it entirely. I will still try to keep to the pacing of the anime, though I might screw up timelines and…certain other canon plot stuff.

To the story then…

Friends With Benefits

By: Gwynhafra86

Chapter 8

"Straighten your arm, Mikhail."

The addressed six-year old furrowed his brows in concentration as he took aim at a row of targets, all made in the form of monsters. His maternal parent stood nearby even as he supervised the child, while his paternal parent hovered somewhere behind.

The child fired, knocking down target after target. For the most part, he seemed to be hitting the head, though it centred around the cheek, nose and chin areas. At the last target, he finally shot one in the forehead, then turned to L-Elf and grinned excitedly. "I did it!"

"Yes…Proficiency level – D." It seemed to be an encouragement for the child, who got an E from L-Elf in the previous round.

Mikhail turned to Haruto, who walked over and patted the child's head. "Well done…but don't go aiming that at people unless you absolutely have to. It's fine for now since you're only shooting at monsters." He threw L-Elf a stare, cutting off any remark the silver-haired Regent may have.

L-Elf huffed. "Naïve." He muttered, but said nothing else.

For now, this was included as part of family time between the mismatched royal couple and their child, one where everything went according to plan in a fairly peaceful manner.

It didn't start out that way…

XXXXXXXXX

"L-ELF!"

Haruto had, unsurprisingly, found out about the trainings. The whole residence was crawling with housekeepers, and they would have gossiped, which would then be spread to the ministers, which would then be heard by Renboukouji Satomi, who would then be spilling it to his wife (by force), who would then have hinted to Haruto…and hence him finding out.

Frankly speaking, he took longer than calculated though. Five days and thirteen hours, to be exact. L-Elf shook his head. Really, this guy's proficiency level…

Like all good parents, L-Elf immediately had Mikhail sent to stay with his godfather A-Drei and godmother Rukino Saki for a while. After all, what good were godparents if they could not be on-call babysitters. According to his predictions, the next couple of weeks were not going to be a pleasant experience for the child if he were around.

Surely enough, once Haruto finally managed to locate him in their residence, a fierce argument began. It wasn't anything new, merely Haruto being his overprotective self and making ridiculous demands for L-Elf to keep all firearms and dangerous objects away from their son's reach.

"What do you think you're doing, letting a six-year-old hold guns?!" Haruto snapped.

L-Elf remained the perfect picture of calmness. "Considering the situation we are in, this is the best solution. Also, at that age, I had already killed dozens of grown men much larger than I was."

Haruto huffed. "Don't compare him to you and your abnormal childhood! He did not come from some kind of military institution like you did!"

Haruto was only stating the truth, and for L-Elf, he was never one to get affected by realistic words. For some reason, hearing Haruto point his childhood directly to his face stung, and it surprised him that he could get emotionally affected by his husband's words. He did not like this sense of vulnerability at all.

It only got worse from there. Noisy altercation gave way to physical force, and they were literally kicking and punching each other. It boiled down to the man's way of winning an argument, by a contest of strength. L-Elf was winning in every way, of course. Haruto might have gone through Magius training after the liberation of Dorssia, and some degree of military training, but he was nothing compared to L-Elf, who was raised a soldier and grew up killing people his whole life.

Haruto was persistent. L-Elf reached the end of his patience, and without Mikhail around, he had free reign to demonstrate his skills as a former spy. He pulled out his gun and shot Haruto. Repeatedly. The whole residence was nearly torn down thanks to the idiot couple's domestic squabble, and soon the walls were peppered with bullet holes. Haruto was too. He just came back alive repeatedly and continued haunting L-Elf all around the halls, trying to make the Regent give up on his training of Mikhail. The whole place looked like a crime scene, with halls filled with blood trails. All of them Haruto's, of course. He was too big a softie to make L-Elf bleed even when he was angry.

With all the bullets flying around, human ministers and guests temporarily boycotted the place out of fear for their lives, and only Magius and Artificial Magius continued to go in and out of the building. Not all of them were unscathed though. Inuzuka took a bullet to the arm, while Satomi unwittingly stepped into the crossfire when he tried to place documents on L-Elf's desk, and he died and got resurrected.

"Gosh…that felt weird…" Those were the memorable first words spoken in the blonde's new life.

Kirko lingered around, hoping to be able to drag his apprentice back to Magius training. The guy had skipped out on a few days' worth from chasing his spouse all over the place. "Your Highness…be reasonable! Your husband may be immortal, but his healing abilities will only activate if he has enough Runes in his body. You will be draining him and the reserves at this rate!" The leader of the Magius advised.

Gunfire continued to ring out, to the point where the Magius and Artificial Magius who visited the place wondered if L-Elf's gun had unlimited ammo. Sometime around the fifth day, gunfire lessened. The royal couple probably tired themselves, (one ran out of bullets or the other ran out of Runes or both), enough to call a truce. To be safe, the immortal pilots and ministers had to scout the situation though before it was safe for the human ministers to come back. They started off by trying to locate where both L-Elf and Haruto could be.

It was easy to locate them, for they could hear the two arguing in L-Elf's office. "Should we intervene? It's been days and work is starting to pile up." Satomi asked the others.

Inuzuka shrugged. "You do it then." He really didn't want to provoke L-Elf's wrath.

There was a bout of silence, both outside the room and in it. Rukino Saki sighed. "You guys are a bunch of wimps! Just walk in there and tell them to stop it!"

No one moved. A-Drei swallowed and reached out. "I'll do it. L-Elf will listen to me."

Saki stopped him before he could even touch the door handle. "I'm not risking you in there. In fact, why did you even follow me here? What if he starts shooting again? You're not invulnerable!"

A-Drei seemed to be put in a bit of a spot from his wife's question. "I don't want you hurt…" He admitted.

Saki put a hand on her hip, even as she huffed. "Speak for yourself. I'll heal. You heal slower. I'll go in instead."

A-Drei's brows knitted immediately. "And let you possibly get shot? I'm not a man if I hide behind a woman."

"You'll end up dead. Have you forgotten that I'm immortal? Are you an idiot?" The words made it sound like the Dorssian royal couple was sniping at each other, but if they stood any closer, they might start merging.

Inuzuka cleared his throat. "Leave everything to us. You two…just go find a room somewhere. His Highness has plenty of spare rooms in this residence anyway." Oh he so hated stupid married couples. First his liege and Haruto, and now these two. Just spare him already…

While they were all shifting around and looking uncertain before the door, Akira, who was also with them because her brother insisted on her being within his sight (for her own protection, he says), reached out and pushed the handle, opening the door a crack. Someone in the room cried out at that precise moment, causing the more skitterish members of the group to jump in surprise.

"Wait…that sounded like L-Elf… Did Haruto finally pull the gun out on him?" Yamada asked. The rest debated if they should open the door, then decided against it and pressed their ears closer, listening for any cues to intervene in case those two started another war.

There were some stifled sounds emitting from the now ajar door - soft moans from Haruto and very occasional groans from L-Elf. From the sounds of it, Haruto could be wrestling L-Elf, or stabbing him, as L-Elf sounded like he was in some degree of pain. Yamada was certain that they should intervene, and turned to the others to voice his insistence to barge into the room.

For some reason, his fellow pilots and Magius did not seem to share his reaction. Renboukouji Satomi had turned beet red before clapping his hands to Akira's ears and dragging her away from the door, while he himself was muttering, "I didn't hear anything…I didn't hear anything…! Lalalalala." Inuzuka was running his fingers through his own hair, looking absolutely awkward and mumbling that happily married couples should just get swallowed up by the floor. A-Drei was whining about L-Elf having poor tastes in JIOR-ians, though Rukino jabbed him in the side with an elbow, offended, and somehow the two really did end up wandering off to a room somewhere.

Seeing Yamada's look of confusion, Inuzuka patted him on the arm. "Yeah. Haruto did seem to have pulled out his gun on L-Elf. Come on, let's not disturb them."

Inuzuka dragged Yamada away. The larger Kamitsuki continued looking confused. "I don't get it. Why are we going away? If Haruto is hurting our Regent we should stop him! Senpai, are you listening to me?!"

XXXXXX

L-Elf's senses returned to him once both his and Haruto's breathing began to slow. It was ridiculous how they even reached that stage in the first place. One moment they were yelling at each other, and the next Haruto accidentally bit his own tongue because he was firing angry words at a pace faster than he could actually manage, and apparently he ran out of Runes to heal himself. L-Elf recognized the signs of his husband needing Runes, sighed and stepped out of his own uniform. It wouldn't do if Haruto started tearing at his clothes, for he rather liked this set. He kept his top on though, finding it unnecessary to bare everything to Haruto, who only needed his rear.

Haruto had some control over his feeding urges, but L-Elf could tell that he was still somewhat angry from the argument they've had for days, which put him in his current, near-feral state. Probably out of retaliation, Haruto entered him unprepared, and L-Elf cried out at the stab of pain from the act. It has been a while since he felt that, especially after they got together for real. The sound of distress lessened Haruto's anger a little. The guy could get hot-headed when he was deep into an argument, but he did love L-Elf enough to hate hurting him.

Haruto placed his hands against L-Elf's hips, stilling himself and letting L-Elf adjust to him. When L-Elf's breathing seemed to have calmed a little, Haruto began moving again. L-Elf, for his part, held his table for support as he braced against Haruto's thrusts. Pain gave way to pleasure, and L-Elf found himself trying not to let sounds escape him. Haruto had less reservation against his expressions of pleasure, as L-Elf could hear his husband moaning quite wantonly behind him. There was something rather erotic with the use of his voice, and that excited L-Elf enough to reach his peak with a well-concealed intake of air. To his annoyance, he had lost out to Haruto, who was still hard and buried quite solidly in him. It was half a minute later before Haruto followed him, unsurprisingly not pulling out beforehand.

They remained that way. Haruto slumped against his back in an almost boneless manner. L-Elf remained upright despite the Runes drained from his body, keeping his legs steady through sheer willpower and years of military training. After a quick mental assessment of possible damage to his body from the rough intercourse, he glanced to the back and fixed his gaze at his husband. Haruto's brows were relaxed, a sign that he had cooled his head off a little from their coupling. The blood that had rushed to his head earlier had headed off elsewhere anyway. It was the best time to try to persuade him, before the blood rushed back.

"I'm still giving Mikhail military training." L-Elf broke the silence. Haruto's hold on him became less gentle, fingers digging into his skin, but L-Elf would not back down on this matter.

"He's too young, L-Elf. He's just a boy!" Again, the repeated argument. Haruto's naïve thoughts became worse whenever it concerned Mikhail, as the brunette just wanted their son to be raised all 'normal' and happy. Had circumstances permitted, L-Elf, having also seen kindness in his family life with Haruto, would have wanted the same for his little boy. They did not have that luxury, and that fact was not going to change.

"Listen, Haruto." Out of frustration, his husband's name slipped out before his mind caught up to it, and that surprised both L-Elf and Haruto. L-Elf recovered quicker, continuing before Haruto could. "Cain is not the only enemy now. There is another threat to the boy. Neo-JIOR."

Haruto dug his fingers deeper into L-Elf's hip, almost in a punishing manner. "Shoko would never…!" He retorted, instantly defensive over his childhood friend.

"She doesn't have a say. Her half-hearted methods are not popular among those who reside in the independent state of JIOR. As we speak, her influence over her own people is waning. They will take a more aggressive stand." L-Elf clenched his hands into fists. "They will come for Mikhail, for he is an abomination in their eyes, more so than the Magius. Can you say with certainty that you'll be able to protect him when that time comes, Tokishima Haruto? Are you willing to gamble our son's life?"

Haruto looked like he was fighting an internal debate with himself. "Why does this have to happen to him…? He's just a child…" He bemoaned eventually. When L-Elf said nothing, he raised his gaze again. "Is this…a prediction?"

"Do you doubt me?" L-Elf enquired calmly.

Haruto shook his head. "No…I trust you." He gave a sigh, weary. Days of chasing his spouse all over the place took a toll on him, and he looked all ready to wave the white flag. Wrapping his arms around the Regent's waist, he rested his head against his back. "If you must train him…I have but one condition. I want to be there during his trainings."

L-Elf pondered his words. If he said no now, he'd only be starting a new argument. Who knew how many days that was going to take, and he didn't want to have to be intimate with Haruto again to distract him. The conclusion was clear. "Very well…but if you interfere too much, you will be made to leave the room." Haruto nodded to that, and L-Elf breathed out in relief. At long last, he could get some decent rest before Renboukouji put him to work again. "Now that we've finally come to an agreement…pull out of me."

XXXXXXXXX

Hence, coming back to the current situation, L-Elf managed to finish all the accumulated work and arrange for his son's training. As usual, Renboukouji Satomi made all the arrangements promptly once L-Elf gave him the order (though for a whole week, the Secretary of State could not look his liege in the eyes). Haruto hovered around if he wasn't having classes of his own, or Magius training. To reduce the paranoia on Haruto's part, L-Elf had to make sure the targets were not human shaped, nor allow Mikhail to actually hold a gun even if he could use one. He made sure the positions of vital points were same as that of a human or Magius though. No point teaching the boy to shoot if he couldn't face the real thing when the time came.

From gun training, next L-Elf taught him how to use blades. Haruto tried to coddle, but really did end up getting thrown out of the room. The first few lessons were downright disastrous, as his son kept getting disarmed. Many times he revealed weak spots, and L-Elf would end up thrusting his blade there, though the blade would stop short before reaching Mikhail's skin. "In a real battle, you would be critically injured by now." L-Elf told his son disapprovingly.

His son blinked up at him with Haruto's wide, blue eyes. For a moment, L-Elf predicted that he was most likely going to cry, having been coddled so much by his foolish father that he was probably just as soft. To his surprise, the child tightened his grip on the wooden knife again. "One more time, vater. Let me try once more." There was a determined glint in the child's eyes, as if he were in a game he didn't want to lose. L-Elf had to fight down a smile at that. Both he and Haruto were stubborn people who hated to lose. The child definitely inherited this trait from one of them, or both. He nodded, then resumed practice.

Mikhail was a child, but fortunately he did seem to have enough of L-Elf's genes to be receptive to training. L-Elf taught him the basics of gun training, blade fights and hand-to-hand combat. It was highly impractical for L-Elf to be the only person to teach his son though, for he did still have a country to run. He had rejected the offer for his son to be sent to Karlstein Academy, but he was not averse to having instructors coming over to teach Mikhail. They may be from the notorious academy, but within the grounds of the royal residence, where L-Elf had eyes and ears everywhere, they had to obey whatever rules L-Elf came up with. L-Elf had just one simple rule. If Mikhail's wellbeing was threatened in any way, he'd break their necks.

When it came to strategies, however, L-Elf was confident only in his own abilities. He may have graduated from the same institution that was current training Mikhail in physical combat, but no one in there could come close to L-Elf's proficiency level when it came to churning out near flawless plans. Cain, the best instructor for strategies, was no longer in the Academy after all. He made it a point to train his son personally, putting his own pride on the line with it.

When he first drafted out a thick bound copy of strategies, all personally written, Mikhail protested. "Vater, that's too much to remember!"

"This is nothing, Mikhail. The information contained in this copy only covers the basics. You should be able to remember at least this much." L-Elf's gaze hardened. "You will not be allowed out of the Residence if you do not remember all these by the end of the week. I will test you on them."

Initially reluctant, Mikhail did sulkily pick up the copy when he noticed that his stricter parent was not going to give in, and his gentler parent was sent away on a long mission and therefore could not come to save him. L-Elf allowed his son to remain in his office while the boy studied the strategies. To his relief, he noted that at some point, his son's interest seemed perked by some of the scenarios. The boy would interrupt his work occasionally to ask him for clarification on certain scenes, and after the Regent illustrated it to him, Mikhail's eyes would sparkle. "That sounds cool!" The boy chirped. It was a little unnerving that Mikhail was treating everything like a game, but if it could get him to focus on his task, L-Elf didn't mind.

The child still had his limits though. It was one thing reading, and another to be memorizing. After days of school, then heading to his office for etiquette lessons, firearms and sword training, by the time he reached his schedule for strategy training, the boy's energy levels reduced significantly, to the point where the child kept yawning. L-Elf chided him, stating that it wasn't very becoming of a prince to do so, but Mikhail still had a lot of difficulty not dropping off to sleep. L-Elf stepped out of his office, thinking that he could get some coffee (since his usual coffeemaker was not around), and while he was at it, he could get Mikhail some warm milk too. When he returned, Mikhail had his head on the stack on notes, slumbering deeply. Giving a sigh, L-Elf took off his coat and draped it over his son's shoulders, covering him. He'd give the child an hour's break. They'd go back to work after that.

XXXXXX

"You are cornered by the enemy, 10 men, all gun wielders, proficiency level – A. They have infiltrated from the left wing, detonating areas A-3 and B-4 before making their way to you in C-5. Escape from those two areas is rendered impossible. Your backup is not for another 500 metres away, a group of 20 men, firearms training – Class A. None of them Magius. Which plan will you use, Mikhail? You have 10 seconds."

L-Elf was rather glad with his son's progress. The boy managed to memorise the plans given to him, and L-Elf wasted no time in letting him be familiar with the practical aspects of them. Simulations came in the form of holographic images, where the scenario was set up exactly as L-Elf said. The tiny holographic Mikhail remained cornered by approaching holographic enemy forces, even as it waited for instructions.

The child frowned, looking thoughtful as his young mind tried to picture the possible scenarios. He eventually seemed to make up his mind. "Plan B-17."

L-Elf keyed the code into the simulation, and the battle was projected. The little blue figure representing Mikhail snuck out of the doors, firing at enemies coming around at the corner before ducking off to another path, making a dash to the escape tunnels. However, the blue figure's path was cut off by the destroyed routes, and he had to take a huge detour. The blue figure encountered more enemies, went a different direction immediately to avoid them, got cornered and was shot. "It's a failed mission, Mikhail." L-Elf spoke darkly.

Mikhail shook his head. "It is not. I have led them to this route, so that their backs are facing approaching reinforcements. With their attention on me, my men can take care of them, without a single man lost." Mikhail reasoned confidently.

It was unnerving to hear Mikhail talk about sacrificing himself without being afraid of it. Perhaps L-Elf might have sheltered the child a little too much, or perhaps this was just character inherited from Haruto's side of the genes. "There is no meaning in that victory if the leader is down. Take out the commander, and you scatter the troops. Your men will end up weak if anything happens to you."

"If I use plan B-20, there will be five people killed!" Mikhail protested.

L-Elf nodded. "Five is nothing on the battlefield, Mikhail. In fact, it's considered a good achievement if you can keep casualties that low. It's all for the success of the mission."

"But vater, I don't want anybody to die!" Mikhail whined.

L-Elf's gaze hardened. "Do not show mercy to your enemies, Mikhail, for they will not hesitate to attack you." This was truly a pain to deal with, a child with his intelligence and Haruto's soft nature. They have gone through countless war games, and while initially disastrous, with missions ending in failure, Mikhail eventually got the hang of picturing scenarios, and missions have been successful ever since. The only problem was that almost 80 percent of the war games he went through with L-Elf involved him getting killed, as the child preferred to take the more diplomatic routes and minimise any possible bloodshed or losses.

L-Elf reached out and placed a hand on Mikhail's shoulder. "There is nothing wrong if you want to protect your men. However, have you thought of what Tokishima Haruto will feel if anything happens to you? I do not want you to get hurt either."

Mikhail's eyes widened. He lowered his gaze, looking a little guilty. "I'm sorry, vater. I did not consider that."

L-Elf nodded. "Apology accepted. Promise me, Mikhail, that if you should ever have to come up with a plan, you will choose one which still allows you to return to me…us."

Mikhail chirped his agreement almost immediately. L-Elf smiled and stroked his son's hair. "We're done for today. Let's go for dinner. Tokishima Haruto will get quite noisy if we're late."

XXXXXX

"So vater, would B-19 have been a better option?" Mikhail asked after swallowing a mouthful of mashed potatoes.

L-Elf nodded. "Your backup remains at their blind spot, and the mission will be a success, with minimal casualties from both you and your men."

"Oh." Mikhail took another mouthful. "10 seconds is too short a time."

"It's normally shorter in real combat. Probably less than 5." L-Elf chided.

Conversations with Mikhail were a lot more delightful once he started training. The boy looked up to his maternal parent greatly, and sought advice on battle strategies, as well as to clarify any doubts he had over his lessons. L-Elf, in turn, found it refreshing to be able to go through all his basics again with his son. The two shared a laugh over private, military-related jokes.

There was one unhappy face at the table though. Haruto's. The guy gaped wide-eyed at them, but could barely understand the content of their conversation. Mikhail definitely exceeded his sire's knowledge of combat, much to the latter's dismay. L-Elf noted that Haruto's body language indicated that he did not like being left out.

"Revise all the strategies I've compiled, then you may be able to join in this topic." L-Elf spoke curtly.

Haruto continued sulking, even as he threw his usual fatherly gaze at Mikhail. "They're difficult. I can't understand much of it."

"No, they're not, otou-san." Mikhail tried to teach Haruto, and L-Elf had to hide a smirk at how Haruto was struggling even at a child's level of understanding.

Mikhail alternated between talking about military-related topics with his maternal parent, and his daily lessons with his sire. L-Elf mused that the guy was a peacemaker, most likely inheriting that halfsie side to him from Haruto. That was good though. Mikhail was more suited to being a future ambassador than he himself was. Glancing at Haruto, he was reminded of a necessity should Mikhail really intend to build on his network.

"Mikhail, aside from knowing strategies and combat, it's important that you learn some hand signs." L-Elf proceeded to teach his son the basics, ranging from requesting for help, or thanking, or apologizing, among numerous others. He finally reached one which even Haruto knew about. "There are times you may have to form a contract or a temporary truce with the enemy. When that happens, hold up two fingers like this." L-Elf raised his right hand with his index and middle finger pressed together. "Then part them." He did so, making a V-sign with his fingers. "This is to signal for the enemy to part with their pride and join you in an agreement."

Mikhail imitated him, though he looked down at his own V-sign in confusion. "But…otou-san said that this is a symbol for peace."

L-Elf threw a stare at Haruto. "Yes. We do seem to have a bit of miscommunication in that sense. I cannot comprehend the reasoning behind the JIOR-ians' use of symbolic scissors to represent peace."

Haruto flushed slightly. "Those aren't meant to look like scissors! They're V-signs! For victory! For peace!"

"You need war before you have victory, Tokishima Haruto. I don't think the process is particularly peaceful." L-Elf retorted.

Even while the debate went on between the couple, Mikhail giggled, halting their argument. Mikhail tilted his head a little. "Pate and kyoubo-sama are right. Otou-san and vater really do sound like a couple in love when you argue."

Haruto blushed and spluttered, while L-Elf's eyes narrowed. "Do you even know what that word means, Mikhail?" He shook his head in disbelief. Gosh…if he left his son with the boy's babysitters any longer, he might turn into a hopeless romantic. Not exactly the brightest future for his son. Seriously, that A-Drei and Rukino Saki…

Mikhail gave a mischievous grin before resuming his breakfast. The silver-haired boy looked all set to begin yet another topic when the door burst open, and in walked a harried-looking Renboukouji Satomi. "I apologise for disrupting your meal, Your Highnesses, but an envoy was sent by Dorssia. Fuhrer A-Drei seeks your advice."

L-Elf nodded and rose to his feet. He headed towards the door, though not before giving a slight pat on Mikhail's shoulder as he passed by.

The silver-haired man closed the door behind him before proceeding to the main hall, where the envoy was most likely waiting. A-Drei was going through a bit of a problem at that moment, and could seek for L-Elf's help at any time. He was glad that he had at least managed to finish dinner before being called out.

The envoy stood and bowed at the sight of him. "It's good to see you again, Your Highness L-Elf."

L-Elf nodded in greeting. "It's been a while, X-Eins."

XXXXXXXXX

A-Drei and Rukino Saki had a fairly relaxed relationship. During the early years of marriage, the Fuhrer gave his wife full freedom, be it to resume her work as an idol, or even to head off to Neo-Dorssia for her duties as a Valvrave pilot. They do still have minor arguments from time to time, but otherwise they clicked well and remained rather attached to each other.

The problem with members of royalty was that their standing and rights to the throne could be questioned, sometimes due to the purity of blood, and others due to whoever just happened to pop out earlier.

A-Drei, having been part of the ones who liberated Dorssia, and being a former member of royalty, was initially a crowd favourite, as people were so desperate for military rule to be overthrown that they'd accept anyone with royal blood to take over. A-Drei became a hero to the people's eyes (of course, everyone knew that L-Elf contributed too, but people were too scared of him to fully idolize him), and his marriage to Rukino Saki further increased his popularity, with him being husband of a famous idol. A-Drei got to work right after he took the throne, as he put in full effort to stabilize Dorssia.

However, years after being liberated from Cain and the former Fuhrer Amadeus' rule, and after the country's situation stabilized, there were people who began to start disorder. They called themselves purists (or bigots, as Rukino Saki loathingly called them), a small group of former royalists and their supporters who did not recognise A-Drei's claim to the throne, nor accept Saki's position as queen.

The purists' main beef with Rukino Saki was that she was not originally Dorssian, nor a member of royalty, nor human, and hence, unfit as a queen for the Dorssian throne. It was also common knowledge that while Rukino Saki was currently a citizen of Dorssia through her marriage to the Fuhrer, she was also a pilot of the Silver Knights and answered mainly to Tokishima Haruto, leader of the Silver Knights and Prince Consort of L-Elf, a person no one wanted to have as an enemy. To these purists, Rukino Saki was using the country's currently tight funds to publicise herself and advance her idol career. It wasn't completely untrue. Rukino Saki was an opportunist, and one who needed the spotlight to live. She would use any means necessary to rise to the top, even if it was to use her image as queen, attend talk shows, host events or sing in concerts. Still, there was talent and hard work involved, but all that was downplayed by rumours and nasty speculations

By attacking the Fuhrer's wife, these people then questioned and weakened A-Drei's claim to the throne. It was also around this time, several members of royalty who were originally in line to the throne became vocal about A-Drei taking over what was rightfully theirs. They had been forced into hiding, suppressed during military rule (or risk being killed if they had made a sound), but now that the bigger threat was gone, they need not hide anymore, and could speak their mind. A-Drei was not in line to the throne, and according to the law (or at least the Constitution before it was nullified during military takeover), A-Drei on the throne was a symbol of abuse of power, and an unorthodox ascension.

A-Drei's position on the throne was not completely unfounded though. He may have had to relinquish his birthright as prince and forgo being in line when his family members were stripped of their powers as royalty during the coup, and their firstborn son was forcefully enrolled into Karlstein Academy and given the identification code – A3, but it didn't change the fact that A-Drei was still the people's favourite as one of Dorssia's liberators, and in recognition to all his contributions, both to the war and towards rebuilding the country, he had the support both from the people and the military.

Still, A-Drei knew that he could not afford risking a civil war (not with them being attacked by external forces too), and had to pacify the members of royalty and their supporters. He called for a round table and sought the audience of all members of royalty in line to the throne. There were 7 initially, as the others were confirmed to be not in Dorssia (synonymous for 'were exiled' or 'assassinated'), but with the death of Lieselotte, there were only 6 left.

All candidates turned up, both those who were openly challenging his position, and those who continued to remain quietly in the shadows. One of whom was the first-in-line to the throne had A-Drei not gotten there first. He was the most senior out of the 6, and was also the one Kriemhild had been secretly in contact with during the old Fuhrer's reign. The man turned his gaze to A-Drei and Rukino Saki in turn, then went to take a seat. The rest followed suit after he did.

That initial ceasefire did not last long, as ten minutes into the round table, accusations fly towards A-Drei and his ambitious takeover of the throne. The one who made the most noise was, ironically, the youngest of all the royal family members, and currently last in line for the throne. Then again, if A-Drei took the throne, it was further away from his reach.

Before the meeting was called for, A-Drei had strictly told his wife not to speak too much of her mind. He appreciated how she stood up for him, but these people might not be as kind if they reacted badly to her words. One of the last things he needed was for them to treat her even worse than they already did.

She remained seated at his side. On the surface, her expression remained serene, perfectly schooled in reflection of her talent as a star. Inwardly, she was seething. The nerve of these people to use her to weaken her husband's position! These cowards have done nothing during the early years since Dorssia's regained independence, and now that A-Drei had the throne polished all nice and shiny, they thought they could waltz in and just take it like they earned it!

Not all of them though. She still could not read the person who had not made a sound so far, the one who would be the first to take the throne should A-Drei really be pressured to step down. Adalbert Kaiser, currently most senior of all those in line, and the one who had full respect from the royalists. To Saki's knowledge, he had been the key person holding the royalists together, and had also been the one who instructed for aid to be given to the JIOR-ians during the war against Cain's forces. While the other members of royalty had not done much, this guy had actually contributed. He was the strongest threat should he too oppose A-Drei's claim to the throne.

While A-Drei was trying to defend himself from all the accusations (and failing quite badly at masking his distaste at those openly greedy men), Adalbert eventually decided to speak up. "Be silent." He commanded.

The other candidates fell silent immediately. There was a tone he had which made even A-Drei, the current reigning Fuhrer, obey his words. Saki resisted the urge to cross her arms under her breasts at her husband's submission.

The man gave all those present there a calm, yet observant gaze before he spoke up. "We were called here today to seek an audience with the Fuhrer, A-Drei Karlstein, with the main purpose to either accept or reject his claim to the throne. Enough with all the diversions then. As the first in line to the Dorssian throne, I will state my views on this matter." He turned to A-Drei. "It is true that according to the old laws, you no longer have a claim to the throne as your rights were taken from you during the coup. It is also true that your wife is…was an outsider, and has ties to the Prince Consort of Neo-Dorssia, and indirectly, ties to L-Elf Karlstein, a man too dangerous to be allowed too much influence in Dorssian politics."

Saki opened her mouth to retort, but the man silenced her with another stare. There was an air the most senior one at the table had that made it difficult for her to disobey, almost as if she were facing L-Elf instead. "However, if not for this man, L-Elf, we would still be under the traitor Amadeus' rule, and also be at Cain's mercy. The old laws were already abolished when the coup happened. Whoever gets to the throne first claims it. Therefore, A-Drei Karlstein's claim to the throne is valid. "

He raised a hand when the youngest tried to argue. "We are not completely out of danger yet. Even as we speak, Cain's forces are trying to intrude Dorssia again. I propose for a vote on the current Fuhrer, A-Drei Karlstein's position. This is not the time for internal strife. We will settle this here, and once the results are out, no more contention should be brought up again."

XXXXXX

L-Elf folded his arms across his chest, listening as X-Eins gave him a brief update about A-Drei's political standing. The votes were split equally. Three of the successors to the throne, including the one currently first in line, recognized A-Drei as Dorssia's Fuhrer. The other three rejected him. Votes were then taken from other members of nobility and also higher ups in the military. The more conservative ones supported the old system, while the ones who were currently working alongside A-Drei, along with those who were formerly his comrades in battle, wanted the current system to remain.

A-Drei won by a narrow majority, and with such, the system stands. A-Drei honoured certain clauses in the old law, protecting the rights of other members of royal blood and nobility by allocating lands to them and allowing them governance. While the ones who objected to his position have backed down, L-Elf knew it was only a matter of time before a conspiracy broke out.

The Dorssian Fuhrer definitely married the right girl. Rukino Saki was an extremely intelligent woman - sharp and suspicious of everyone who approached her husband. If anyone showed even the slightest hint of unnatural behavior during their meeting with the ruler, Saki would immediately put herself between the person and her spouse, and that did indeed save him from a fair number of assassination attempts. As much as that saved the country from chaos and messy takeovers, A-Drei hated it whenever she did that. She would always recover almost immediately, but he didn't like the process of suffering she had to go through first, lying there in a pool of her own blood while that recovery ability of hers took effect. She wasn't always successful in protecting her husband, and there were a number of occasions he did take hits. The girl tended to blame herself after that, even though A-Drei usually recovered because he did have the tenacity of a roach.

L-Elf mused that having Kamitsuki spouses sure was convenient. Saki threw herself into the path of danger, while L-Elf pulled Haruto in frequently as his shield. Even so, that was highly dependent on whether the two could actually protect them in time. A-Drei wasn't quite as sharp as L-Elf in detecting assassination attempts. The officials loyal to A-Drei pressured him to stabilize his claim to the throne. With his contributions to the war and country, he had death flags all over his head, being a constant target for assassination by those who opposed him. He and Rukino Saki couldn't always remain in the honeymoon stage. A-Drei was probably being considerate of his wife's second career as an idol and didn't want both pregnancy and childbirth to affect her figure. Still, they could not afford to remain childless. He had to produce an heir to prevent his bloodline from dying out.

Saki made the first move, declaring that she was tired of the spotlight, and that she was willing to be more proactive in her duties as queen. A-Drei knew that his wife was obviously lying, but could not talk her out of it.

Months later, and even after their godson Mikhail already learnt to shoot, the couple didn't seem to be holding a baby shower anytime soon. The last time A-Drei spoke to L-Elf, he informed his friend that both he and Saki were going for fertility checkups.

"His Majesty would like to speak to you in person about the results." X-Eins informed the silver-haired Regent.

L-Elf nodded, and two days later, the Neo-Dorssian royal couple paid the Dorssian Fuhrer a visit.

There was a strained expression on A-Drei's face when he greeted them. Rukino Saki was nowhere to be seen. L-Elf figured that his friend probably wanted some privacy between them, and ordered Haruto to remain in their room. L-Elf followed his friend to one of the meeting rooms, already figuring what A-Drei wanted to say, especially judging his body language, and the way he sank into his chair in an expression of misery. He held his tongue and let his friend tell him anyway.

A-Drei started out with a lot of other random topics, mostly enquiring the state of L-Elf's country, and also about Mikhail. He eventually went to the point when he ran out of topics to speak of. "Saki…my wife…is barren. She is unable to conceive. The doctors noted that while her reproductive organs are intact, she is completely sterile." He spoke hollowly.

L-Elf remained expressionless. There was nothing he could say which could change that reality, and diverting from facts was not in his nature. He was not good at comforting people, unless he spouted all the sweet crap Tokishima Haruto usually said. The only exception was his little Mikhail, who was easy to please.

L-Elf let A-Drei compose himself a bit. He needed to know what A-Drei's next move would be. The council members were not going to be forgiving or sympathetic towards Rukino Saki's condition. "What will you do past this point?" There were plenty of options available, but considering how they insisted on A-Drei 'producing an heir', they placed emphasis on the continuation of the current Fuhrer's bloodline, and in other words, his options were either to take a concubine, or to get a surrogate mother for his child.

"There is no way I will take a concubine. Saki will kill me. Perhaps a surrogate parent…" He glanced in L-Elf's direction. Moments later, he had to dodge a flying fist.

"Get a woman to do that for you!" L-Elf scowled, unimpressed. There were limits to friendship. He folded his arms, taking on his usual air of a strategist. "Rukino Saki does not have a say in this. Her position is unfavourable, and with the purists antagonizing her, she will not last long as queen if she gets in your way of taking a concubine or a surrogate. Just find one, get the job done and have the other woman live separately if you so insist."

A-Drei stared at him. Already, L-Elf could feel his friend's eyes questioning if he even had a human heart. He did, but that was no excuse to not pointing out the obvious course of action. After a while, the purple haired Fuhrer sighed. "That's so like you to say something like that, L-Elf. And here I thought motherhood would have softened you." A-Drei immediately received a violet glare at that, and shrugged. "I'm not the kind of man who would mistreat women like that. I'm a gentleman, you see. Unlike you. There is no way I would take another woman under the same roof. Saki does have a pretty strong pride. She wouldn't forgive that."

L-Elf stared. How very much like A-Drei associate his excuses with Saki's displeasure at the idea of another woman around. To the silver-haired regent's knowledge, Saki was the type of person to take a backseat if she liked someone enough. It was rather like when she was actively flirting with Haruto (who never did quite catch any of her hints, even if he did get turned on by her boobs), she chose to take a step back, knowing that Haruto's heart belonged to Shouko, and even after Haruto ended up switching targets to L-Elf, she chose not to force her feelings, and hence also her wishes on him. For a person as observant and realistic as Rukino Saki, L-Elf did not doubt that if she knew it was for A-Drei's benefit, she would grit her teeth and accept any mistress A-Drei chose to take.

If A-Drei really did cave in to pressure from the nobles and took another woman for the sake of producing an heir, he would most likely be more affected by it than Saki would. A-Drei's reason for not taking another woman into his arms was more of his own fear of hurting Rukino Saki and their marriage than her hurting him. He knew that A-Drei was a complete fool when he was head over heels for Rukino Saki, but it seemed that years after marriage did not fizzle out that spark at all. That, or Saki must be more amazing than he had initially predicted.

"You sure are devoted to your wife." L-Elf eventually commented.

A-Drei frowned. "You're one to talk. Who was the one who demanded absolute loyalty from his dear spouse? You just can't bear having anyone else touching your Tokishima Haruto."

"Tokishima Haruto running around with anyone else will bring severe harm to my image as Fuhrer. I intend to make sure it does not come to that. Nothing more, nothing less." L-Elf retorted coldly.

A-Drei gave a snort and shook his head. "Right. I believe you, L-Elf."

The two friends said nothing else. A-Drei was too busy thinking of a way out of this, while L-Elf was already strategizing how best to stop his friend from being stubborn and actually taking the most practical course of action. If the latter noticed someone sneaking off around a corner, he said nothing. It was all part of his calculations anyway.

XXXXXXXXX

L-Elf and Haruto were to stay at A-Drei's residence for two nights in total, and were to leave on the third day. Shortly after they had dinner, the couple retired to their room for the night, while A-Drei headed to his bedchamber, having been summoned by his wife.

He rubbed the back of his head, wondering what he could tell her to reassure her that he would not treat her any less than an equal just because she could not conceive. She seemed to be in low spirits after the doctor gave his diagnosis, and murmurs from housekeepers and visiting ministers did not make the situation easier for her. She was an excellent actress though, always holding her head up high and not revealing the slightest bit of weakness. A-Drei could tell that she was depressed, simply because he was always watching her, and was able to pick up even the slightest cues from his wife.

A breathy moan stopped his train of thoughts, and he frowned, recognising the sound to be that of his wife's, normally heard when she was in the throes of passion in his arms. Speeding up, he walked briskly to his room and threw the door, which was ajar for some reason, open. Light from the doorway flooded into the room, illuminating a familiar silhouette on the bed. Saki looked every bit as beautiful as A-Drei remembered her, from the moment he set eyes on her for real the day she returned to her own body after having hijacked that of a Karlstein trainee. Even after all those years, she remained alluring, not aging even a bit. There was just a slightly unpleasant scene to mar her beauty at that moment, for her arms were wrapped tightly around the neck of another man. A soldier, as A-Drei recognised him.

There were a few moments of silence as A-Drei and the couple on the bed locked eyes. There was little doubt as to what had transpired before A-Drei walked in. The sheets were completely messy, and both Saki and the asshole were flushed and breathing heavily. Saki wore but a thin, light lingerie, one strap barely still hanging on to her shoulder to prevent the whole top from falling off and revealing her ample breasts. The other strap had already fallen to the upper side of her arm. She pressed up against the other man so close that there was almost no space between their bodies.

The Fuhrer took one step into the room, then another. Already, blood was rushing to his head at the sight of another man in his and Saki's marital bed. At the sight of the Fuhrer, the young man's initially flushed face lost all its colour, and he began quaking, his jaw opening and closing as if to give excuses which might save his life for even a while longer, looking very much like a robber caught red-handed during a heist. The intense fear kept him mute though. It was Saki who spoke up first.

"Ah. You're back early." She spoke airily, as if she hadn't just been caught cheating on her husband. A-Drei detected a twinge of displeasure in her voice. The minute Saki loosened her hold on her bed partner, he hightailed from the room. The instinct that his life was in danger gave the young man a burst of adrenaline, allowing him to dodge A-Drei's blade with godlike speed before running helter-skelter from the royal couple. A-Drei did not chase after him. He had issues to settle with his wife first.

"What the hell is this about, Saki?! Answer me!" Already, A-Drei was beginning to see red.

Rukino Saki looked deep into his eyes. While he was usually able to see love for him in them, this time, he could not read any emotion from her. She gave an abrupt laugh, running her fingers through her hair and causing her lingerie to slide down further. "I guess the gig is up." She folded her arms under her chest. "This is who I truly am, dear husband."

"You-" A-Drei's words were cut off when Saki leapt off the bed and landed lightly on her feet. She approached him and touched his face. "You poor fool. Did you think I accepted your proposal because I loved you? I wanted power as queen, and I get to promote my cds too. Who would have thought that being queen came with so much hassle. I'm tired of this! I'm done!"

A-Drei knew that Saki was under a lot of fire for not being able to produce a child after so many years, and wagging tongues, as well as spreading rumours, put quite a bit of strain on their marriage, wearing it down. Still, she had shown no sign of relinquishing her title as queen, until now.

Saki backed off from him and stretched. "It's not in my nature to be tied down by one man for long. It was a good ride, but I've gotten bored of you." At seeing A-Drei gape at her, a part of him still clinging on to rationality and maintaining a sense of disbelief, she laughed again. "You fool! You don't know me at all! Did you really think I was a pure, innocent virgin the first time you took me to bed?"

A-Drei's mind went back to the first day he laid his wife on his sheets. The shyness with which she looked at him. The pain he caused her, and the bleeding…and the perfect, artificial-Magius healing ability immediately after intercourse was over. It couldn't be…

"Stop it…" A-Drei warned, clutching his head.

Saki smirked at him, and spoke the dark thoughts which were currently running through his head. "I could be sleeping with anyone, and there is absolutely no way for you to be able to tell."

"Stop it!" A-Drei's tone turned threatening. His mind went to how much he treasured his wife, being gentle with her in bed because every single session caused her pain, and this was how he was getting thanked…

Saki's gaze was cold. "Speaking of which, you were not my first man. You're boring. Compared to you, Haruto was able to satisfy me in ways you will never be able to…"

A loud smack resounded in the room. A-Drei had finally snapped, lashing out and striking his wife across the face. Hard. However, at the sight of his wife sprawled on the floor, having been thrown there from the force of his blow, he froze. They stared at each other for a moment, Saki remaining there with a thin line of blood seeping from one of the corners of her mouth, and A-Drei, for once, not wiping it away for her. There was a slight spark of hurt in Saki's deep, purple eyes, but A-Drei thought that she deserved it, and without a word, he turned and stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

XXXXXXXXX

Haruto's laughter was distracting.

The thought crossed L-Elf's mind more than once as he sat on their bed. Haruto sat next to him, with his back propped up by a pillow, and his hands holding his phone to his ear. "So that's what you've done today. How are your studies going, Mikhail?" Haruto asked affectionately, having been on the phone with their son for the past half an hour. Granted, they had the resource of the whole country, but that was still no excuse to run up their phone bill.

L-Elf paused in the midst of writing out a plan to help A-Drei stabilize his position on the throne. He watched Haruto closely, noting that, despite Haruto's constant proclamation of love towards him, he'd never direct the same look of love he had on his face currently to L-Elf. Listening to Mikhail's voice, Haruto beamed, his face alight with unrestricted love towards the child. There was a relaxed expression on his face, compared to his smiles (tinged with hints of sadness) which he usually directed at L-Elf.

Haruto looked over at that moment, saw him staring, and gave that melancholic smile at him again. He rolled over and inched closer to L-Elf instead. "I'm done talking. Here, talk to him. He was asking for you." Before L-Elf could retort that he was busy, Haruto had already shoved the phone against his ear.

"Vater?" All protests faded away at the sound of his little light. He took the phone and sighed. "Have you revised your strategies, Mikhail."

"Yup!" The child proceeded to give him a whole update of his own progress.

A faint smile crossed L-Elf's face before he could stop it. Haruto noticed it too and gave him a teasing grin. That, in turn, made L-Elf school his expressions again. "Don't give trouble to Renboukouji Satomi." He reminded sternly. At his son's affirmative reply, he passed the phone back to Haruto and lay down, going back to his plans. Haruto continued the conversation for another minute before ending the call. He turned to L-Elf, giving him a disapproving look. "You're so cold, L-Elf. It wouldn't hurt for you to talk to him just a while longer."

"We'll see him tomorrow anyway. A few hours makes no difference." L-Elf replied curtly.

Haruto smiled and chuckled. "You say that, but you'll be the one missing him the most." L-Elf ignored him, though he got distracted again when Haruto ran his fingers along his arm. When L-Elf turned to him, Haruto took his hand. "L-Elf…" The brunette murmured softly.

The silver-haired looked into his husband's eyes, saw his intentions and sighed. How on earth did Haruto go from fatherly to perverted in a flash was beyond him. He didn't mind though. He was somewhat in the mood, having to let off some tension from repeatedly going through his plans. He accepted the kiss Haruto gave him, and put up no resistance when Haruto slipped his hand under his shirt.

A loud crash could be heard at that moment. Haruto reacted by pulling away from him in surprise. L-Elf, on the other hand, barely moved. His eyes swept across the room, looking for the source of the commotion.

He frowned at seeing A-Drei at the doorway, having kicked the door open. Haruto was initially startled, but relaxed and smiled at the sight of L-Elf's closest friend. L-Elf did not mimic his husband's friendly gesture, as he took in A-Drei's body language at a single glance, noting the look of murder in the purple-haired's eyes, and the gun in his hand. His mind, long trained to react immediately in the presence of danger, quickly came up with predictions. Rukino Saki must have already played her cards.

Less than five seconds had passed from the moment A-Drei barged into their room to L-Elf's mind already informing him of the next, most rational step. "Tokishima Haruto." He began. At Haruto's questioning "hmm?", L-Elf gave his command in a single word. "Run."

The silver-haired man gave the brunette a hard kick, knocking him off the bed just in time for a bullet to bury itself in the wall at exactly the same position Haruto's head was at half a second ago. In that very same move, L-Elf flipped off the bed, drawing the blade he hid beneath his pillow. He disarmed A-Drei, though the purple-haired Fuhrer drew a blade and proceeded to engage his fellow Karlstein graduate in a blade fight.

"Step aside, L-Elf!" A-Drei snarled. He was only after Haruto's blood.

L-Elf continued to counter each thrust and parry. A-Drei was inferior to him in terms of sword fighting skills, but he was physically stronger, more so when he was enraged. It was getting challenging to block his blows with the purple-haired lashing out so furiously.

"What…what's going on?" Of course, his confused idiot of a husband remained rooted where L-Elf threw him to earlier. L-Elf knew Haruto's sense of chivalry would prevent him from abandoning his silver-haired spouse. He just had to defend Haruto long enough to find some kind of opportunity to kick him again, preferably out a window this time, where A-Drei couldn't reach him.

At Haruto's voice, A-Drei continued slashing with renewed vigor. "You scum! You laid hands on my wife!"

Haruto gaped, his expression giving off his guilt. Damn that JIOR-ian and his overly honest nature. L-Elf continued protecting Haruto from the slightly crazed Dorssian Fuhrer. "That was a long time ago, A-Drei. Also, she wasn't your wife yet back then." L-Elf explained calmly.

A-Drei next turned to his friend. "You knew about this?!" He demanded, disbelief and frustration lacing his voice.

L-Elf frowned. He thought A-Drei knew him well enough. There was little information which managed to escape his notice, which gave people the impression that he was some kind of prophet. L-Elf looked at his friend, who still looked murderously at his husband. "Saki…that whore…!" A-Drei snarled.

"She's not a whore! She's not that kind of girl!" Haruto retorted immediately.

A-Drei sneered at his words, mistaking his hastiness to defend his fellow pilot as a cover up for guilt. "You would know, huh?!" He snarled again.

L-Elf gave a grunt, narrowly dodging a slash. The blade nicked his arm a bit, causing it to bleed. "Haruto, you're not helping one bit. Be gone!" He continued to protect Haruto, putting himself between his husband and his closest friend, simply because he did not trust A-Drei to be able to hold back from actually killing Haruto in his current state of rage. He still needed his head pilot in his plans. That, and Mikhail would be utterly crushed if anything happened to the brunette.

A-Drei's eyes continued flashing. "You're in my way, L-Elf!" He threw a punch at the Dorssian, who had to dodge him. Very swiftly, A-Drei followed that move with a slash. L-Elf immediately moved to counter.

Right at that moment, Haruto seemed to decide that he couldn't watch it anymore, and wanted to do something to help him. As usual, Haruto tried to protect L-Elf by shielding him against the attack from A-Drei. As usual too, Haruto merely managed to mess up his plans, as his actions were unnecessary. It ended with him receiving a blade to the front, courtesy of A-Drei, and a blade to the back, courtesy of L-Elf, who was in the midst of countering A-Drei's move. The brunette collapsed to the ground, with his eyes blank and unseeing, as he lay in a deathlike state. A-Drei was a little taken aback, not expecting to actually be able to stab the JIOR-ian with how well L-Elf was shielding him. He also didn't expect L-Elf to deal half of the killing blow too, even if unintentionally (or maybe he did predict it and wanted to punish his disobedient husband).

L-Elf made an angry sound and swore softly under his breath. He turned to A-Drei. "Satisfied yet?"

"No. I will be if he dies for real." A-Drei replied darkly, watching as Haruto's wounds closed and healed.

L-Elf's eyes narrowed. "I won't let you kill him. If you really are so displeased with your wife, then hurry up and dismiss her from her position as queen and get another woman. You had plenty of them back in the Academy anyway."

Right at that moment, Haruto regained consciousness, as he grabbed hold of A-Drei's leg, smearing blood against his pants. "Rukino-san…isn't that type of girl… please don't make her sad. She must…she must have her reasons…"

L-Elf frowned. Why did Haruto have to be so perceptive at a time like this? L-Elf would very much like to continue on the façade Saki played. A-Drei didn't seem to appreciate the brunette's words either. L-Elf saw his friend's hand move, seemingly intending to bring the blade down on the brunette again.

L-Elf pondered his possible scenarios. He wanted A-Drei to divorce Saki, get another woman and produce an heir. It was the easiest and most logical conclusion to come to, and the best way to pacify the elders in his council and stabilize his own position. However, he knew that his best friend would be hurt. It didn't bother him back then, but some of Haruto's constant brainwashing about the importance of friends might have affected him. Just a little. It was enough to give him a conscience though.

L-Elf was rather impressed with Rukino Saki's guts. She was cunning, and like him, realistic enough to know when and how to act. She definitely had more courage than most men L-Elf knew, including Haruto. Dragging Haruto's name into this mess was indirectly like a challenge to Haruto's spouse himself, or maybe retaliation at L-Elf for managing to steal Haruto away from her (not that it was intentional). Having Saki, a Valvrave pilot, maintain a certain hold on the Dorssian Fuhrer could be good too. L-Elf could use it to his advantage in the future.

He was also getting a little tired of his best friend taking liberties and stabbing his husband in front of his face. He wasn't trying to play the role of a good spouse by stopping his friend. He just didn't want their bedroom to reek of blood. It wasn't the best scent to sleep in.

"If you still cannot figure out Rukino Saki's intentions, a woman that intelligent is wasted on you." L-Elf finally spoke up, halting A-Drei's blade, which hovered dangerously close to Haruto's neck. He was probably going to regret this plan.

A-Drei stormed over to his friend. "As expected of you, L-Elf. You know something. Spill it!" He grabbed his friend by the collar.

L-Elf yanked the offending hand away and shoved A-Drei from him, keeping a distance between them. "You used to be a lot more of a thinker, A-Drei. Now you're just a hopeless romantic. The old you would have been able to figure it out almost immediately. Now you're too blinded by unnecessary emotions." At seeing that A-Drei still didn't seem to understand, L-Elf folded his arms. "For her plan to work, she needed to get you riled up. Bringing up Haruto's name was the final blow, but she had to weaken your mind first. A traumatic scene then. Judging from the name you called her…she used a man in her play." He smirked at seeing A-Drei's eyes narrow slightly. "You're too easy to fool, A-Drei. It's a no wonder she always has to be the one to protect you."

"Protect me…How is cheating on me protecting me?!" A-Drei demanded.

L-Elf wondered if his friend might have been hanging out with Haruto a little too much during his visits to see Mikhail. The stupidity was spreading. "If you want answers, find the man who was with Rukino Saki."

XXXXXX

The Neo-Dorssian couple extended their stay by a day. Considering how ridiculous A-Drei was when he was trying to court Rukino Saki back then, L-Elf didn't trust his friend to be able to handle this unsupervised either. If A-Drei killed the young soldier, it was going to be a lot harder for L-Elf to make him understand. L-Elf and Haruto were moved to a different guest room, as the old one needed a lot of patching up. That whole night, L-Elf lay down and pictured all the possible scenarios past that point, especially if he were to reveal Rukino's intentions to A-Drei. Saki tried to make her move before L-Elf ruined it for her, an unbecoming move on his part, and definitely not in his usual character to do so. It would be A-Drei's turn to make the next move. L-Elf wasn't too optimistic that it would be the wisest.

Haruto fussed over him, checking on his injuries and giving him first aid. He still sucked at it. L-Elf gazed at him, frowning. Come to think of it, he was with this guy for far too long, to the point where Haruto was actually slowly, but surely wearing down his defenses. He dreaded the day he became equally naïve in terms of his thinking too. How long were they together already? It has been…

"7 years and 20 days…" L-Elf murmured softly.

Haruto stopped in the midst of mummifying his arm. "What?"

L-Elf glanced over. "Nothing." He gave Haruto a disapproving stare before continuing, "You've done enough damage for tonight, Tokishima Haruto."

The expression of hurt on Haruto's face was instantaneous. "I only wanted to protect you."

"And you didn't." L-Elf pointed out bluntly. Haruto's expression fell further. Giving a sigh, L-Elf continued on. "Until the day you become stronger than me, do not even attempt to try to protect me. I can manage on my own. For now, your job is just to remain by my side and help me raise Mikhail."

That lightened Haruto's expression as he nodded. "Gladly." His spouse responded.

L-Elf huffed, turning to his side. "Just go to sleep already." He felt Haruto press up against his back, hands locking around his waist. It didn't take too long before L-Elf heard his husband's snores. Going back to his plans, L-Elf tried not to be distracted by the brunette's warmth. Given time, he could no longer remember the days when he slept without the comfort of someone else next to him. He'd win this war, just so that those days could continue a little longer.

XXX

It was easy singling out those without a proper alibi, and A-Drei homed in on the poor guy at recognizing his face immediately, though L-Elf gave his friend a punch to the gut, winding him and effectively stopping him. The guy, probably too terrified of what Rukino Saki might do to him, kept mum no matter how his fellow Dorssian soldiers beat him and tried to get him to talk. A-Drei threatening to send him to the firing squad didn't help matters either.

L-Elf flexed his fingers. "Give me a moment with him." He spoke calmly. He all but dragged the young man into one of the rooms, closing the door behind him.

Ten minutes later, the young man was begging for mercy and spilling out everything he knew…

XXX

He was a young soldier, with such a long, promising career ahead of him. He swore loyalty to his Fuhrer, A-Drei Karlstein and his queen, Rukino Saki. For years, he'd worked his way up the ranks, hoping to be acknowledged for his contributions one day.

Then his chance came, for apparently he received summons to report directly to the Fuhrer at his bedchambers. It was an odd choice of a location to give a report, but the Fuhrer's orders were absolute. Making his way there, he knocked on the door and reported for duty.

The one who opened the door was not A-Drei Karlstein though, but his queen, Rukino Saki. The young man gulped minutely, subconsciously checking out the beauty before him, his eyes lingering longer around her nearly exposed chest area before forcing himself to look her in the eyes. It wasn't exactly the best move though, for her eyes were half lidded, pretty much begging for him to get inside and do something extremely naughty.

"Oh…you're here as scheduled. Good." She spoke up. Her voice was as sweet as he remembered. He had bought all of her cds and shared it with his fellows in the barracks. She reached out and tugged on his collar lightly, almost as if she were trying to pull his face closer. "Come on inside." She murmured.

Oh he would love to, but he was a good soldier, and good soldiers would very much like their heads to still remain intact on their necks. He gave a salute. "I…I apologise for being here at a time like this, but I…I was told to report to his majesty."

The queen gave a chuckle. "He's not back yet. You're reporting to me." She informed airily.

The young man was stumped. He was pretty sure being in the king's bedchambers, alone with the queen, was a dead no-no in his profession. The cons far outweigh the pros. He stammered and backed away. "I…I will report to him once he has returned then." He told her.

The queen looked a lot less seductive as she rolled her eyes. "Ch! You're making this difficult." She reached out, dragged him into the room and threw him onto the bed. It was scary that the lady looked so petite, yet had such strength. So it was true about her other job as a Valvrave pilot and combatant. He gave a whine of fear and tried to scoot away, but got his hands tangled in the messy sheets and could not escape when she too climbed onto the bed and sidled up to him. "Now then, just cooperate with me for a bit. We're going to play a game. If you tell anyone about this, I will personally castrate you. Are we clear?"

He nodded vigorously. It wasn't like he had a choice. The queen reached out and traced his jaw line. "You will like this game. I have seen the way you look at me. You want to make love to me, don't you?"

The soldier gaped at her, stunned that she had directly pointed out his dirty little secret. That wasn't fair. Almost all the healthy young males in the barracks had fantasies of making love to the queen. She was an attractive woman after all, and an idol to boot. He remained rigid as she slowly wrapped her arms around his neck. "Let me bring some of your fantasies to life then." She whispered, her voice lustful. Despite himself, he couldn't help getting a little excited.

That was…until he heard footsteps approaching from a distance.

He panicked, quickly trying to pry the queen's arms off him. She seemed to have heard the approaching person too, then gave a smile. Turning to him, she stroked his face, lowering her hands past his jaw, towards his neck…then proceeded to strangle him…

The poor soldier choked, eyes wide the minute his air was suddenly cut off. What the hell was going on here? One moment she was seducing him, and the next she was trying to kill him! Being a man, he was supposed to have the upper hand in strength, but he noticed her eyes glowing green, and knew that she was using her powers as a Magius. There was nothing he could do against those hands clamped like a vice around his neck. His vision was slowly turning dark, and he wondered if his body was going to be found like this, lying in the Fuhrer's bed.

Rukino Saki loosened her grip abruptly. With his air passageway free again, he took in a deep gulp of air, coughing and choking as he tried to bring the glorious feeling of oxygen into his lungs again. When he was sure he wasn't quite dying, he looked up at the queen, wondering what kind of play she was trying to do with him. Was she secretly an SM queen too? She smirked at the panting and gasping soldier before her, promising that it was going to get worse, and it did.

Without warning, she raised her head and gave a loud, orgasmic moan. It would have been very sexy, if it weren't for the footsteps in the hallway now running towards the room.

He tried to stop her, but she clamped her mouth to his and silenced his frightened squeaks, even as she continued to press herself against him. He was pretty much already hyperventilating from fear when the door burst open, and the Fuhrer himself stepped in.

Oh he was so dead. Here he was, panting and gasping from being strangled earlier, his face still flushed from the lack of oxygen. The queen, for some reason, was mimicking him, breathing heavily and looking equally flushed. His mouth opened and closed as he tried to plead the king for mercy, but he wasn't too sure of what to say. He didn't think "Help! The queen is trying to rape me!" or "Help! This woman is crazy!" were particularly convincing. The minute the queen loosened her hold on him, he ran like his life depended on it, which it did. The farther he was from the crazy couple, the better.

XXX

A-Drei gaped at the soldier once he was done. "So…it was a set up?" He asked. His voice was laced with both disbelief and relief.

L-Elf turned away. "Obviously." An actual cheating woman would not summon her husband to the bedchambers first when there was another man there. A-Drei was too emotional to think clearly.

A-Drei sagged with relief, turning to ask L-Elf another question, though at the sight of Haruto standing next to the silver-haired man, his eyes narrowed again. "She wasn't sleeping with this soldier, but she had slept with Tokishima Haruto." He scowled.

"It…it wasn't intentional…" Haruto began. Out of context, of course, A-Drei took it the wrong way. Again.

"You've unintentionally slept with my wife?! What's that supposed to mean?" Before A-Drei could try to stab the brunette again, L-Elf, in one swift move, whacked them both behind their necks and knocked them out.

When they came to, they found themselves strapped to beds in one of the rooms. "L-Elf! What's the big idea?!" A-Drei yelled.

L-Elf remained outside the room, holding the keys to the locks holding their limbs bound. "You're both going to talk this out. If you do not settle this by afternoon, I'm setting your beds on fire." Despite the usual cool voice, there was an underlying tone of irritation in the Regent's voice. He was tired with dealing with dumb people.

A-Drei could feel a vein pop. "Don't fuck around with me! L-Elf! Let us go this instance! Oi! Are you listening to me?!" He tried to free himself, but the chains were of L-Elf guaranteed quality, and were impossible to break out of, unless he decided on sacrificing his limbs.

"A-Drei…we need to talk." Haruto began. A-Drei snarled, rattling the bed in an attempt to move it away from Haruto's.

"Shut up, Tokishima. I do not want to hear of your excuses!" He tried the chains again, but they held fast, just like they did for the past ten minutes.

There was a moment of awkwardness in the room, filled only with the sounds of A-Drei cursing and swearing. At some point, the bed stopped rattling, mainly because he knew that there was no getting out of it. In that silence, Haruto seemed to decide that it was his duty to fill it.

"It's not Rukino-san's fault. It's entirely mine. Had I been stronger…had I been able to control the feeding urges for Runes, that would not have happened." Despite his anger towards Haruto, A-Drei's curiosity was peaked enough for him to listen on. He wished he didn't though, as Haruto revealed the monstrous deed he committed towards his fellow pilot, one known only to her, L-Elf, and himself.

"You…you forced yourself on my wife?!" A-Drei enquired not too calmly. He wasn't too sure which sounded worse – If Haruto had admitted to having an affair with Rukino Saki, or admitting that he raped her.

Haruto swallowed painfully. "For any Magius or Artificial Magius, Runes are necessary for survival, and the exhaustion of Runes will mean death for the person. For my case, being the pilot of Unit 01, it is my duty to collect enough Runes to be able to power up all the units. Back then, I didn't know about that, nor did I know that I will go into an animalistic, mindless state when deprived of Runes. When all the Runes stored in my body are exhausted, I will end up attacking the closest person around to try to restore them. Rukino-san…happened to be the closest person around that day."

A-Drei went quiet as Haruto's words sank in, followed on by their meaning. After a while, A-Drei said the words L-Elf spoke to the brunette a long time ago. "You're a monster, Tokishima."

Haruto gave a weak laugh. "I know." There was a moment of silence. "This is my curse to bear. I will not let anyone else face this. After that incident, I made an oath not to let that happen again."

A-Drei breathed deeply, trying to calm himself enough to not verbally attack Tokishima Haruto. From what he could tell, especially from the tone of the JIOR-ian's voice, the guy was already beating himself up over it. He frowned, as another question came to his mind. "How are you able to control your urges now?"

Haruto chuckled. "I thought L-Elf would have told you about that already. We made a pact. I would only draw Runes from him. In exchange, he gets the power of the Valvraves. It was a give and take agreement between us."

Drawing of Runes…as A-Drei remembered, that seemed to be done through Haruto biting L-Elf around the neck area. That explained those marks he saw years ago. He initially thought that Haruto was just very aggressive in leaving hickeys. Still, they have progressed far, from L-Elf being Haruto's food source, to lovers (or sex friends), and now to married partners and to parents of A-Drei's adorable godson. "You two are complicated." A-Drei finally spoke up, unsure of what else he could say.

Haruto chuckled. "I guess so. We still are. I'm not leaving his side though. I've done something unforgivable to him. I'll use my whole life to atone for it."

A-Drei frowned again. Curiosity won out again, and he began his question. "What did you-" A sudden realization struck him, and he gaped. "No…you didn't…" At Haruto's silence, laced with layers of guilt, A-Drei exhaled loudly. "Unbelievable! First my wife, and L-Elf too?! Is there no end to your appetite?! So much for your oath to not harm anyone else! How is that even possible? This is L-Elf we're talking about! How did you manage to…wait, don't tell me. I don't want to know!"

Haruto swallowed. "I'm not expecting your forgiveness. I do know that he is your closest friend. Still…if I could turn back time…"

"Ah, damn it! Just let me punch you once when we're free from these bounds." A-Drei sighed. He fixed his gaze to the ceiling. "I may be his closest friend, but it does seem like I don't understand anything about L-Elf at all. How he could start a relationship with you after all that is beyond me, or how you're not dead yet, for that matter. I think I finally get why he didn't want to carry your child initially though. Your relationship is too complicated, even without a child thrown in."

"True. It is still complicated, but I don't think it's as bad as it was though. Mikhail's presence in our lives really helped us keep a common ground. I don't think L-Elf would admit to that though."

"Indeed." A-Drei sighed. "That guy is never good at expressing himself, and it's almost impossible to read him. Well, if it wasn't for him, I might have ended up the same way. When we were young, he was always the person to walk in front of the rest of the group. We were all child soldiers – L-Elf, X-Eins, H-Neun, Q-Vier and I. He was always the one to finish the kill, or do the dirty work. If it weren't for him, our young minds would have been broken by now. In return, however, it's made him become a jaded person, unable to express himself, and sticking firmly only to plans and calculations. I dislike you, Tokishima Haruto, but…I have to thank you. You have opened his heart. A little."

"It's still a long way to go before he'd truly accept me though, if ever." Haruto responded.

XXX

By the time L-Elf let them out of their restraints, A-Drei broke Haruto's nose, then for some reason, those two became close buddies ever since. Apparently after clearing the air, the two bonded by bemoaning about their extremely complicated spouses. It was like any usual scene of husbands complaining about their respective wives - A-Drei had his hard to control wife Saki to deal with, and Haruto had his extremely difficult to read L-Elf.

A-Drei still had to deal with Saki though. She had her reasons for staging that affair. As far as he could tell, L-Elf was only kind enough to tell him that she 'wanted to get him riled up, so that he couldn't think clearly', but he wasn't generous enough to reveal the reason. "Figure that out on your own." His best friend told him. That jerk.

Haruto pondered the situation for a while. "I was thinking, A-Drei, but…could it have something to do with the succession issue that is going on in your country?"

Then it clicked. A-Drei wanted to shoot himself in the head for not noticing something so obvious. Saki's real intention was…to trick A-Drei into dismissing her just so that he could hook up with someone else who could actually bear him an heir.

It was time for A-Drei to make his own move. He proceeded to send summons to the council of elders, the former successors to the throne, and to his own wife, inviting them for an emergency meeting. Saki had been avoiding him ever since the falling out. When they met again, there were no smiles, no greetings between them. He gave her a stiff nod, which she reciprocated before taking her seat next to him.

A-Drei made a few declarations. The first was that he was not going to take any mistresses, nor get a surrogate to carry a child for him. Simply put, he was not going to have any biological children. Instead, he named the firstborn son of Adalbert Kaiser to be his legal successor. The most senior member of royalty seemed surprised by his announcement, but thanked him all the same. The youngest at the table stood to protest, and that was when A-Drei made his second declaration. Any insults directed at Saki would be punishable by death. Right after he said that, the youngest wisely kept his mouth shut.

He next turned to Saki, whose eyes were wide after his second declaration. "Rukino Saki." He turned to her, his eyes blazing. "You've tried to take matters into your own hands when you staged that ridiculous act. I will tell you this now. The next time you do something like that, I will have you bound, put in a straitjacket and locked in the dungeons, so that you will never be able to lay eyes on another man. I don't care who you were with before, as long as I am the last. No matter what other kind of tricks you pull in the future, I will absolutely never divorce you! You can give up on your act already!"

Saki gaped at him. "Do you…do you even know what you're getting yourself into? Are you an idiot?" The emotions she had been suppressing over the months came gushing out, and she sobbed. "You…colossal idiot…"

At long last, A-Drei reached out, took her into his arms again, and wiped her tears.

XXXXXXXXX

There were still words spread around about the Dorssian royal couple. People did not say them aloud in public, but on WIRED, where everything was free and unfiltered, there were rumours of them having some kind of weird SM preferences. A-Drei had yelled loud enough for the housekeepers lingering around outside the room to hear and spread the word around. People continued to mock the two most closely associated with A-Drei – comparing the two biggest jokes of the century, the one where a man could take on a woman's job and bear children, while the woman ended up barren and unable to even conceive one.

The Dorssian royal couple wasn't affected in the slightest by those rumours. Their initially crumbling relationship ended up fortified, to the point where people who tried to poke fun at them eventually gave up, sick of seeing them flirting all over the place.

L-Elf, for one, would very much love to plug his ears whenever A-Drei dropped by, but talked only about Saki and her success as both queen and idol. "Should you not be somewhere else, A-Drei?" L-Elf asked emotionlessly, halting A-Drei in the middle of his repeated story about Saki's recent tour to JIOR.

A-Drei smirked. "You know, if you're just a little more honest with yourself, you and Haruto could be somewhat like Saki and me."

"That will not be happening." L-Elf glanced at the papers which the housekeeper brought into his room earlier, frowning at the cover page. The press was getting lax if they were picking up gossip from WIRED and making news out of it. Ever since the word about the Dorssian throne being succeeded by someone who was not of A-Drei's blood died down, another rumour started up, something along the lines of L-Elf probably giving his second child to A-Drei as a sign of goodwill. Whoever wrote that must have been high on substance. There was no second child, and even after the years, there was no sign of one.

His personal physician, Kibukawa Takumi, informed him that he might have some updates about the Kamitsuki, and promised to give L-Elf the results by afternoon. L-Elf initially wanted to get some work done before that time came, but A-Drei had dropped by to spoil his godson, and disrupt his work while he was at it.

Wanting to get out of the office earlier, L-Elf left the room ten minutes to twelve, heading towards Kibukawa's section. The physician-cum-Valvrave development team scientist raised an eyebrow at his presence, but otherwise let him stay. The Kamitsuki pilots eventually filed into the room at the appointed time. Haruto walked in with his mentor, Kirko, before making his way to L-Elf and standing by his side.

The usually fairly jovial scientist, for a change, seemed solemn. He gestured to a chair. "I think you might want to sit down before I inform you of this, Your Highness."

"That is unnecessary. Please give your report." L-Elf ordered.

Kibukawa nodded. "Very well then." He gestured to a chart, which contained the health reports taken from all the pilots. "Ever since Rukino Saki, pilot of Unit 04, was clinically announced to be infertile, I had a hypothesis, but I had to conduct some tests to see if it were proven right. Here is one more discovery I made about all the Articifial Magius."

L-Elf's eyes narrowed. Everyone else in the room did not catch on, and continued blinking at the scientist in confusion. Kibukawa looked at each of them in turn. "When you give up your humanity, there are changes to your bodies, including the ability to heal, and also the ability to manipulate Runes. However, there are also bodily functions removed. The ability to age, and hence also…" His gaze became serious as he paused for a moment, allowing them time to brace themselves before continuing. "…the ability to procreate. Rukino Saki is not the only one infertile. Everyone who is a Kamitsuki becomes sterile. This includes, ironically, Tokishima Haruto."

L-Elf's expression did not change, not even when everyone else in the room turned their attention to the royal couple, and not even when Haruto sank heavily into the same chair L-Elf was initially offered. The same question ran through everyone's minds.

Who was Mikhail's father?

To be continued…

A/N: Yay, smut! When was the last time I actually wrote that. XD.

Urgh… Rukino Saki's "Baka ja nai" just doesn't have the same impact in English. Think that fell flat.

There will most likely be a poll for the ending in the next chapter. This fic still has a few more chapters to go before I wrap up everything.

Please Read and Review. No Flames Please.

-Gwyn86