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Closer Enemies	By : lissatyger Category: +A through F > Fire Emblem (all) > Fire Emblem (all) Views: 3462 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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Title: Closer Enemies
Author:
Moontyger

Archived: My LJ and the LJ fe_yaoi
community. Ask before archiving elsewhere.

Fandom: Fire Emblem: Path of
Radiance
Pairing: Stefan/Ike/Soren
Rating: NC-17
Warnings:
some fluff, angst, eventual non-con. Also, Stefan comes across as a
total ass in this one, so consider yourself warned if that will
bother you!
Author's Note: Just in case you were curious (and you know you were!) my brain insists that the theme song for this fic is "Lying is the Most Fun a Girl Can Have With Her Clothes On" by Panic! at the Disco

Disclaimer: I own neither Fire
Emblem nor these characters, for which they are probably grateful.

“You know, don't you?”
Stefan's voice was flat and it was hardly a question.

“Know what?” Ike refused
to relent enough to admit he knew what he meant.

“About Soren. What he is.”
The arrogance in his tone made Ike want to slap him.

“Yes. And it makes no
difference. I still love him.” His tone carried his own
certainty. This decision was closed, final. He wouldn't change his
mind.

“You think that. But not
everyone will feel as you do. What if others knew and demanded you
get rid of the abomination, this walking sin against the Goddess?”

If this continued much longer, he was
going to order him out of his sight. That taunting tone, the
expression that suggested Ike was a fool, it all made him furious.
And he'd better never hear of him saying these things to Soren!

“I wouldn't listen. This is my
company, and none of them would do that. If they did; well, they are
welcome to leave. And they would. All of them could leave and I
still wouldn't reject Soren.”

“And if the Princess ordered
it?”

“I still wouldn't listen. She
is just an employer. I don't need any of the rest of this. None of
it is as important to me as he is.”

Ike turned and walked away. There was
no point in continuing this conversation. He knew how he felt and
nothing would change his mind.

Thinking over Stefan's words again, he
realized something. It almost sounded like he were trying to protect
Soren, testing Ike to make sure he wasn't going hurt him. He had to
wonder: what did Stefan feel for Soren? He tried to stifle the surge
of jealousy. Soren wouldn't be interested and wouldn't leave Ike for
Stefan, so it didn't matter. Did it?

* * *

Another day, another conversation that
made him angry. How did Stefan manage to make him furious so
easily? This time, it began with him saying, “You know that
you can't protect him.”

Rage blossomed inside Ike. How dare
Stefan voice such a personal fear: the fear he tried to hide and
never look at? He would die to protect Soren, but sometimes he
worried that it wouldn't be enough. It was the one failure he knew
he couldn't live with.

“I will certainly try!”

“But in the end, you will fail.”
Stefan sounded cold, but certain. What did he know that Ike didn't?

“Is that a threat?” he
asked through clenched teeth. He hoped he would give him an excuse
to act on his anger. If Stefan were a threat, he would end that
threat here and now.

“No. Just a statement of fact.
In the end, you will fail. And then he will come to me. In the end,
I will win. I just have to wait long enough.”

“What are you saying?!”
Ike's self-control was the thinnest of threads now and he could feel
it unraveling even as he demanded an explanation. Unable to wait for
an answer, not trusting his own reactions (as if anything could
excuse such a statement!), he tore off to find Soren, desperate for
reassurance that he hadn't already lost him and needing to stake a
claim to him.

Afterwards, Soren kissed him and
stroked his hair tenderly. “Ike, what's wrong?” he
asked. “This isn't like you.”

Ike sighed. He should have known he
couldn't hide anything from him. Not that he really wanted to.
“It's Stefan. He keeps saying terrible things to me: that I
will fail to protect you; that he will take you from me. I couldn't
bear it if either of those were to happen!”

Soren frowned, but his words and voice
were gentle. “You should know better than that. I love you.
You've always been the only one for me.” He kissed him again
and Ike held him close, wanting never to let go. He knew he meant
what he said; why was he still so afraid? “I'll talk to him,”
he promised. “I'll find out why he has been saying these
things to you and make him stop.”

Soren sounded so determined and so
protective of him that Ike couldn't say no, even if the idea filled
him with misgivings. “Just remember that I'll always love
you,” was all he said, rather than voicing any of his doubts.
He worried that Stefan would say these things to Soren and it would
hurt him; he was afraid it would change his mind. But he wouldn't be
so condescending as to order him not to do it. They were equals; had
to be equals. So he would let him be protective of him in turn, as
Soren let him do the same for him.

* * *

Soren felt nervous entering Stefan's
tent, but he only had to remind himself of how lost and unsure Ike
had sounded to overcome it. How could Stefan do that to him? He
didn't know or care what his motives were; he was determined to make
him stop. He could bother Soren all he wanted; he was used to it,
after all, but he would leave his lover alone!

Stefan was stretched out on his bed,
arms folded behind his head and his boots still on, looking perfectly
at ease and rather smug. “I thought I'd be seeing you soon.
Reconsidered what I said?”

“You know perfectly well I
haven't!” he snapped at him. “Why have you been
bothering Ike?”

A slow, pleased smile spread across
Stefan's face. “It got your attention, didn't it?” He
grasped a slender wrist and pulled Soren on top of him, kissing him.
It was so fast and so unexpected that he froze, unable to react as
his brain struggled to process what was happening.

The sound of the slap rang out much
louder than he would have expected. Soren backed away to the far
wall of the tent, fingers clutching the tome he was glad he had
thought to bring with him. He would kill him. He didn't have to
take this, not this! Who could blame him when he had laid unwanted
hands on him like that? He was shaking with rage and fear.

“Ow.” Stefan rubbed the
vivid red handprint on his cheek ruefully. He looked up and caught
Soren's eye, saw him with his hands raised, prepared to cast. He
wouldn't be taken by surprise like that again! “If you kill me
now, like this, when I am unarmed, it will be murder, you know,”
he said casually, completely unafraid. “Do you really think
anyone could protect you from the consequences of that?”

Soren froze, then lowered his hands.
He was right, damn him. “Never touch me again!” he said.
“Or I will do it and it will be self-defense.” He
measured the distance between them with his eyes and wished it were
greater. He thought he could
react in time if he needed to. At least he knew Ike would come if he
screamed. Nothing would save Stefan then, and the thought gave him a
grim sort of satisfaction.

“I
just told Ike the truth.” Stefan's green eyes met Soren's and
locked, both refusing to look away. “It doesn't matter what he
feels. He is human
and you are not and never can be.” His tone made the word the
obscenity that laguz meant it to be.

“That doesn't matter. And if it
does, he'll find a way around it.” None of his doubt, his
fear, was in his voice or his eyes. He would never let anyone
else see it, especially not this man, with his smug certainty that
Soren's love was doomed.

“That is the sentiment of a
child, Soren, and you aren't a child, however you appear. He can't
make everything all right. It just isn't possible.” He now
sounded like an adult telling a very young child he couldn't have
some toy he was throwing a temper tantrum for. Soren hated it, but
he wouldn't concede the point and he did have faith in Ike. And in
himself. If there was a way, they would find it. If there wasn't,
they would make one.

“Everyone said what he has done
so far was impossible, too. Ike is good at overcoming the limits of
what other people think is possible. I have faith in him and in us.
If it is a problem, we will solve it together. So you can just
leave him alone!” He crossed his arms over his chest and
forced himself to continue meeting Stefan's eyes despite his
discomfort.

“So protective of him! I wonder
how he feels about that? Can't the General take care of himself?”
His tone was mocking, but he looked away, finally. Soren felt a
vicious triumph.

“You're jealous,” he said
flatly. “You think we can do it, too, and it drives you nuts.
That's why you keep bothering us.”

Stefan laughed, but it was a bitter
laugh. “Maybe you're right. But that doesn't mean I plan to
stop bothering you. Or that I couldn't do worse than that if I
tried. What would you do to stop me from telling everyone the truth
about you, I wonder?” he mused.

Soren stared at him in shock. Was he
serious? He seemed to be and he tried to stifle a shudder. “I
assume you have something in mind?” he replied dryly. “I'd
say you can't be serious, but I begin to think that there is nothing
you won't do.” He could hardly believe this was happening.
This was not how he had expected this conversation to go!

“Oh, I'd do it all right. I
didn't have a reason to tell your secret before, but now,” he
shrugged. “There's nothing stopping me. What do I really have
to lose?”

Soren gave a frustrated sigh. “I
suppose you don't care if people know about you?”

“I never tried to keep it a
secret. Unlike you. People will wonder what else you are hiding.”
His expression was sly and he spread his hands suggestively. Soren
jumped at the unexpected movement and tried to edge further away.
“How could anyone trust you again? Ike still does because he's
in love with you, but everyone else? How would they feel? You're
not so naïve as to not know the answer to that!”

“So what's your price?”
He was ready to get this over with. The kiss earlier made him feel
jumpy and off-balance and he felt desperate to get out of this tent
that felt increasingly too confined for safety.

Stefan must have known how he felt.
Surely he wouldn't have made such an outrageous demand had he not
sensed that Soren was desperate and nearly willing to agree to
anything if he could just leave and flee back to the safety of Ike's
arms.

“One night with you. Give me
one chance to show you how it could be with someone else of the same
kind as you. Let me prove to you that blood really is thicker than
water. You won't regret it.”

Soren was shocked and outraged. How
could he ask that? Did he really think Soren could bear to
let him touch him? Was he really such an overconfident fool?

“I already regret that we ever
met you and even more so that I came here tonight. No.
I should kill you for even asking and Ike will
kill you if he hears about it.” He was pleased that he kept
the fear out of his voice, leaving only the anger and determination
audible. His hand tightened on the tome in his sleeve and he tensed,
prepared to fight back if Stefan took so much as a step towards him.

“Very well
then.” He stood, but barely glanced at Soren, moving instead
to leave. “I will tell everyone. Starting with the Begnion
commander. I believe I know where his tent is.”

Afterwards, he
will hate himself for his weakness. But visions of being considered
untrustworthy, of losing even the tenuous connection he had to the
other Greil Mercenaries, made him speak. “Stop. Won't you...
accept anything else? Please.”

Stefan
turned back and his gaze seemed almost sympathetic. For a moment he
really thought he might have pity on him and stop this. He had
to understand Soren's fear; would he really take advantage of it like
this? He raised a hand, seemed about to caress his face. Soren
backed away and raised his own hands protectively. Maybe it was a
mistake; maybe he would have given in had he acted differently,
permitted the gesture. But it was too late; he had acted
instinctively to avoid Stefan's touch. He saw his eyes harden.

There was nothing in his voice or face now but cold and calculating
determination. At that moment, he thought Stefan would do anything
and never count the cost. “No. Nothing else is worth enough
to me. It is you I want and you I am going to have. Or you will
lose everything.”

Not everything,
a tiny voice inside whispered. But it would be enough; more than he
wanted to lose. And it would hurt Ike terribly. More than
this? the inner voice asked.
But he couldn't back down now. Stefan had already seen his weakness;
the smell of his blood was in the air and he knew it would only
attract more predators.

“On one
condition.” He couldn't believe he was doing this; was amazed
to hear the words come from his mouth. What had he just said?

“Done.”
Stefan's response was instant and he wondered if he had given in too
easily. Maybe he really could have talked him out of it. Given
time, maybe he would have reconsidered, realized how foolish this
request was.

“Don't you
even want to know what it is?” He was angry, with Stefan and
with himself. What had he been thinking to agree to this, under any
circumstances? He should have let him tell anyone and everyone.
Anything rather than this.

It's
only for one night, he reminded himself. He'd get through it somehow
and then it would be over. Not like the consequences of letting
Stefan cause trouble. Those would be more permanent.

“Very few conditions could be so bad as to make me regret this
bargain. But very well, what is it?” He seemed idly curious,
no more. Until Soren actually told him.

“Ike has to be there. With us. I'm not sleeping with anyone
without him!” His gaze and voice were determined. Stefan had
already agreed and he wasn't going to back down.

The expression in the green eyes meeting his turned dangerous when
he named his condition. “You may regret that condition, little
mage. You may regret it very much,” he said softly. “But
it is none of my concern if you want to ruin your relationship rather
than keeping this a secret. I stand by my word on it.”

“I'd worry more about myself once he hears about it, if I were
you!”

He tried to edge past him to leave, but a hand on his arm stopped
him, squeezing tightly enough that it would probably leave bruises.
“He'll be angry, no doubt. But I think you'll find he's less
willing to commit cold-blooded murder than you think.”

His final damage done for the night, Stefan opened his hand and let
him go. Soren could feel his eyes on him and he tried not to run.
He wouldn't give that blackmailing monster the satisfaction.
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Closer Enemies