1. Eden

 
In our life
There is one to love
To worship.

In our life
There is one
Above all for us
And we faithfully love.

"Ikaw Sana" by Ogie Alcasid
Translated by silrayn silverwolf
 

Ran sat in the living room. He was reading the college text. A slight frown of concentration wrinkled his brow.

"Ran-san, don't study so hard. You don't have a test tomorrow, don't you?" Nagi said, as the telekinetic was reading from a book.

"Yeah, you're getting to be a real bookworm, love." Schuldich teased Ran as he slid by the other on the couch.

"Hn." Ran said contentedly as his lover slid an arm around him. They had been lovers in his Weiß Kreuz days though then it had the edge of danger and uncertainty. He never knew if the telepath truly wanted him or if theirs was a love made with the perennial excitement over the danger of being caught. Neither of them had been willing to let go of loyalties to both Schwartz and Weiß. Now that those days were over and done with, with Weiß disbanded, he could now enjoy the German's company without the guilt of betraying his family and friends. He still remembered the bit of trouble he had when he had told Weiß about him and Schuldich. Even Aya-chan had been amazed by his decision.

***

"You're going to what!" Ken fairly shouted the words in surprise.

"I'm going to go live with Schuldich."

"The Schwartz bastard. What does he have to do with this?" Youji said, his eyes narrowed as he processed the information. They had been discussing over lunch what they were going to do now that Weiß was finally disbanded. Youji had opted to stay with the shop full time. The rest of Weiß were staying on temporarily, part-time while continuing their studies. Ran brought up his planned living arrangement with Schuldich afterwards since it seemed the right time to discuss it.

"Yes, Aya-kun are you being manipulated by Schwartz?" Omi said, blue eyes brimming with concern.

"I've not been more in control before in my life."

"It seems that Aya has developed a sense of humor. Now that Aya-chan's awake." Youji said, evidently trying to defuse the situation.

"Ie, and it's Ran now." Ran said shaking his head.

"He killed your family damned it." Ken said in frustration, as the truth dawned on him.

"Time to forgive and forget. It's been years."

"Are you sure you're our A-Ran?" Youji said putting his hand on Ran's forehead to feel the redhead's temperature.

"Are you really, really sure that Mastermind isn't manipulating you, Ran-kun?" Omi said worriedly.

"Aa."

There went another round of futile arguments where Youji and Ken tried to persuade Ran to stay with one of them until he was sure.

"Will at least tell us where you're going?" Omi asked when it was obvious that none of the Weiß could convince Ran otherwise.

"Ie. The Schwartz safe house location is a secret but I will call on you now and then to show you that I'm all right."

***

Then there was Aya-chan to contend with…

***

"You've settled in with Schwartz without a problem, haven't you, Ran-niichan?" Aya-chan said over the phone. Her concern came through the line clearly. She had been sent abroad by Kritiker to study since the organization didn't want to waste time trying to protect her in Japan.

"Aa." Ran said trying to convey assurance in that one word. He was never that good with words. A failing he often regretted when it came to his love ones.

That's probably why you fell in love with a telepath…

"They haven't done anything bad towards you, haven't they?" Aya-chan had heard much about Schwartz from Weiß and knew them to be responsible for the death of their parents, her kidnapping and so much more. Ran knew that his teammates had expressed their incredulity to Aya-chan as much as they had to him when he had told them he was going to live with Schuldich as he was going to take his college courses in Finance.

"Ie."

"You are in control of your own actions, aren't you 'niichan? Not like Sakura-san?"

"Aa."

"Honto ni?"

"Aa. Aya-chan, do you think that I'd be allowed to speak to you like this if Schuldich was controlling me?" Ran said finally goaded into speaking.

"Well, you'll never know, 'niichan. From what I heard of Schwartz… Anyway, nice to hear from you. Is there any chance I will see you the next time I'm in Tokyo this spring break?"

"Aa."

"I will see you there?"

"Aa."

"I will be expecting you, 'niichan." Aya-chan said.

"Aa."

"And bring Schuldich-san too, if you want." Aya-chan added in the end.

"Aa."

"Bai-bai."

Click.

Ran sighed.

"Who was that?" Schuldich drawled languidly.

"Aya-chan."

"Ah. And let me guess, she doesn't quite approve of us either."

"It's understandable, knowing what she must have heard from Weiß." Ran defended his sister.

"So are we going to call their bluff?"

"Aa. We're going to go to the Weiß reunion during Aya-chan's spring break."

"That's my boy."

"Aa, I'll show them that I'm not ashamed of you."

They made out on the couch.

"Eyuh, guys, why don't you take that elsewhere." Nagi said as he walked in on their kissing.

This startled a bark of laughter from Schuldich that was so infectious that Ran found himself smiling along.

***

"Schuldich!" Ken said as he had opened the Koneko's back door to Ran.

"Hn." Ran said with a death glare.

What an auspicious beginning… Ran thought rather ironically.

"Well, I thought that Aya-chan was joking when she said that you were going to bring him. So we weren't expecting him…" Ken babbled.

"Hidaka aren't you going to get out of the damned way?" Schuldich said in an amused tone.

"Aa." Ken said rather flustered at the absence of the customary cruel smirk on the telepath's face.

"I hanged it up with my villain's hat…" Schuldich teased.

"Hn."

"Huh." Ken asked, clueless.

"The smirk. So I'm here to meet the rest of the kitty-cats and convince you that my intentions towards Ran are honorable. It's a fucking engagement party then."

"Aa." Ken said as he led them to the basement where the living room was now situated.

"So there's our errant redhead…Schuldich!" Youji said with Birman on his arm.

"Nice to see that I'm welcome."

"It's not everyday that we get Schwartz on our doorstep." The blonde temporized.

"Ran-kun, you really brought Schuldich along I thought you were pulling our leg when you told Aya-chan that you would." Omi said as he brought a tray full of food into the room.

"Hn."

"Hey, we didn't try to change him. He hasn't developed a sense of humor in his stay with us, Schwartz. You get back what you lent us." Schuldich bantered. Laughter relieved the rising tension in the room.

"Ran-niichan, is this your boyfriend, Schuldich-san?" Aya-chan said shyly as she rose from the couch where she perched.

"Aa."

From then on the introductions went smoothly and the conversation flowed. At the end of the four-hour gathering, Schuldich even managed to make everyone laugh at his rendition of some common mission blunders that Weiß and Schwartz made in their checkered careers.

***

The memories warmed Ran. In the end, Weiß had no choice but to accept that Schuldich had been serious of his intentions towards the Weiß redhead. Vindicated, Ran still felt the tentative approval of his surrogate family.

It's good to know that they no longer doubt my happiness…

"Come on, love, you've got better things to do than stay in those books until the night's over. You still have sword practice in the morning." Schuldich smirked putting his hand on the other redhead's arm. That was all the warning Ran had gotten before he felt himself being pulled up and half carried to their mutual bedroom with little protest.

"Study time's over for the night." Schuldich whispered into Ran's ear as they got into the room.

"Hn." Ran said.

This was the life.

***

"Schuldich, you're covered with blood." Ran said tersely as he half-stood from the couch he had been sitting on. He absently let the book he was reading to fall unheeded to the ground in his concern. The Schwartz had gone out earlier in the night on one of their bodyguard missions.

"Don't worry about it. A clumsy fuck of a guard fell on me as he died. Nothing can come at us without warning with Fearless Leader, here." Schuldich said, grinning at Ran's concern.

"Hn." Ran said.

"I'm touched by your concern, but really, this is nothing. I just need to take a bath." Schuldich said bringing him along into their bedroom.

***

It was another night. Another mission for the rest of Schwartz and this time Crawford was to stay at home since three were enough. Though the precog would stay up and keep alert for visions that might concern the outcome of the mission.

"Ran, I'm going out into a mission with Farf and Nagi. Can I leave you here with Crawford with the two of you getting into a damned cat-fight?" Schuldich asked.

Crawford was the only one in the household who Ran didn't quite get along. It seemed like a fundamental difference of opinion for both of them, Ran would admit, were stubborn men. Even Farfarello didn't show as much concern about the recent addition to their household.

I just don't approve of his command decisions. They still sell themselves to the highest bidder…when they could retire. But then when I went with Schuldich I knew what I was getting and my lover is hardly a saint. But still…

"Hn." Ran said.

"Try hard. The way you've been fucking fighting all the time, I would wonder if the two of you were married for twenty years."

"Hn." This time the grunt was accompanied by a death glare.

"Yes, I know that, love. Didn't mean to imply anything. Fate worse than death." Schuldich smirked.

Ran just intensified his glare.

"Don't worry about it. It's not that I would doubt you. In fact, I feel much, much safer when you're with Crawford rather than with Nagi or Farfarello. Farf's really not stable and Nagi…I think you could fall easily for him."

"Hn." Ran said, softening his glare to gaze at Schuldich' eyes.

"Not that there is damned cause to doubt you." Schuldich said as a whisper-light touch caressed Ran's mind in farewell.

"Hn." Ran settled back to wait, like he had done so many nights. He ignored Crawford as the latter also entered the living room. The smell of coffee preceded the precog that raised an eyebrow at him as he looked up.

This is going to be a long night…

Thankfully the mission came off without an incident.

~TBC~

Author's Note:

*The parable as I remember it:

Let's say you're dieting and you suddenly feel a sudden craving for ice cream. You say, "I would only walk by the supermarket". So you walk outside the supermarket. Then you say, "I would only enter the supermarket." So you walk inside the supermarket. Then you say, "I would only walk by the ice cream aisle." So you walk to the ice cream aisle. Before you know it, you're outside eating a gallon of the fattening stuff. It's the same with sexual temptation. It starts with the small things then before you know it, you can't stop. The best way to resist sexual temptation is not to start entertaining the notion at all. How will you say: temptation stay away from me, when you are actually the one who's chasing it? -- from Father F.'s lecture(1993).

Person: Temptation, stay away from me!
Temptation: Gladly, if you stop trying to get near me. I'm getting tired of running away.

The titles are all biblical in reference in this five chaptered fic - Eden, the serpent, the apple, the fall, Earth

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