A/N: Hello there! This is my first time writing Meine Liebe in English - the fandom sorely needs fanfiction, so here is my little contribution to it. This was originally posted at the Meine Liebe community at LiveJournal, as a response to the fic challenge issued by sableblanc. I picked the prompt # 15 - Dilemma. Beware of (possible) boring talk regarding two different International Relations theories, idealism and realism. The "security dilemma" is a figure studied by the realism scholars. On a last note, I apologise in advance for any bizarre wording and/or strange mistakes - English isn't my native tongue, but I tried my best.
Disclaimer: I do not own Meine Liebe.
Security Dilemma
"You are wrong."
A tired sigh left Eduard's lips as he closed his eyes for a moment; he was sure that Naoji and Camus were mentally preparing themselves for yet another debate.
"I am hardly surprised to notice that you failed to elaborate your answer and thus explain why you imagine that your inferior thinking stands a chance."
Orpherus placed both gloved hands on top of the wooden table, the object being the exact distance from his blonde figure to Ludwig, who remained seated on one of his favourite chairs at the library, arms crossed over his chest and a haughty look on his face.
"Nations do not tend to war as if they were some kind of power-driven beasts; they tend to mutual cooperation and the progressive abandonment of force."
The faintest trace of a rather snobbish smile tugged the corners of the future Duke up, who now stood up and mirrored Orpherus' position. Three pairs of eyes watched as the duo seemed to forget about their presence - or the rest of the world, for the matter.
"You speak of fairytales, Orpherus. States are always drawn into conflict, possibly even war, even though none of the states actually desire it. Military and economic power are the reasons behind every move from every country."
The outraged look on the blonde's face preceded the very predictable way his body leant slightly forward, almost as if the head of the Görz house was trying to reduce his opponent to dust with the sheer intensity of his gaze.
"So you are saying that since conflict is inevitable, the only way out is to fight violence with violence? That is merely falling in to the Machiavellian trap," the blonde made a small sound of disdain, shaking his head. "That is the same as saying that we do not have the ability to learn and change things. This is exactly why I say we must disarm ourselves and set the example."
A small fly came from outside, easily entering the library from one of the windows. It immediately became the target of Ed's attention, while Camus tried very hard to clean the hem of his shorts from dirty he had not noticed before - probably from the greenhouse - and Naoji's gaze unfocused, as if his mind was back in Japan and not in Küchen.
"Example? Example of a failure, surely." the long-haired Strahl candidate replied, twisting his lips into an arrogant smirk, "It is only wise to do as the other countries do. War is approaching and whether you like it or not, Orpherus, I'd rather have Küchen well-armed and prepared for when it does."
"That is a security dilemma and you know it. The more you try to increase our force, the more vulnerable you leave our country!"
"And thus we enter war. This is exactly what I have been trying to tell you for the past thirty minutes: one must be mad to remove our troops from the frontier and let the smallest sign of rendition reach the other kingdoms. War is near and it is at least suicidal to believe that the other nations will not act upon the removal of our security from the borders." Long and dark purple hair framed Ludwig's beautiful face, his eyes gleaming with the fire which only a heated discussion could produce.
The voice of the headmaster came from the speakers recently installed within the Academy grounds, summoning the three non-debating Strahl candidates to his office. The trio immediately rose and exited the library, whispering apologies for leaving so suddenly and barely hiding the relief from their faces.
Despite the absence of their usual companions, the library felt smaller than it ever did; it was a collateral effect of some sort from their inflamed arguments, their egos and thirsty for victory making up for the lack of physical presence of other human beings.
Orpherus rounded the table, taking a few steps before halting his moves just beside the middle of the table. Arms crossed over his turquoise uniform, he stared at his opponent, "I strongly dislike the way you portray humans. It is almost as if we could switch from being hunter to prey when there is no such a thing."
"No such a thing?", the Duke-to-be inquired, his tone faintly amused but with a dangerous edge to it. The taller figure of Ludwig also moved, coming to stand right in front of the other student; the King's nephew looked considerably more intimidating when closer like that. "Are you quite sure, Orpherus?"
A couple of steps from Ludwig and unconscious moves from the blonde left Orpherus pressed against the table, the edge of the object uncomfortable against his back as the dark-haired youth inched even closer, trapping him with his arms. The blue-eyed boy could think of nothing as he felt the soft caresses from the other student's hair against his face, Ludwig's lips millimetres from his left ear.
"Are you sure, Orpherus?", he spoke again, his tone low and husky and with the slightest trace of malice, "Because I certainly feel like the hunter at the moment and you do look like my prey."
If there was something which Orpherus really detested, it was to have his own words turned against him - something Ludwig tended to do quite a lot. Refusing to remain trapped like that, the blonde immediately reached up with both hands, grabbing his rival's luscious hair with vigour and slamming his lips against Ludwig's fiercely.
The kiss was intense and breath-taking, the world forgotten by them as their tongues intertwined and danced, their bodies moving of their own accord. When the duo parted for air, the Duke-to-be was half sitting on the table, his left leg dangling from the wooden surface while Orpherus supported his weight with one hand, the other gloved fingers still buried in the long silky strands of hair.
A proud smile graced the blonde's lips - a gesture which was not mirrored by the other student.
"Perhaps I'm starting to see your point regarding the division of humans into hunter and prey," the blue-eyed student said in an equally husky tone, his gaze fixed on the dark-haired youth so intently that he did not miss the beginning of the mischievous yet arrogant smirk which soon made itself present on the other's face.
"It would seem, Orpherus, that perhaps you are not a completely lost case."
THE END
A/N²: I hope it was enjoyable. And on a last note, I wrote Lui as the realism supporter and Orphe as the idealism one.
Thank you for reading!
Mari-chan.