Warning: AU, Fantasy, PG-13, Ran/Ken.

Disclaimer: Weiss belongs to Takehito Koyasu and Project Weiss.

City of Steps

Chapter 10

"What?"

"My Grandmother Fujimiya is here," Ran repeated.

Ken looked at the sedan-chair and then back at Ran again. His husband's usually pale skin had gone chalky white and Ken wondered if he was going to fall over.

When Ran didn't speak again, but remained on his feet, Ken looked back at the sedan-chair sitting before the front door. He could see now that there were four attendants, rather muscular young men, lined up along the front of the house. They all wore coats of a rich blue color and he could just make out the Fujimiya coat of arms on the nearest one's left coat sleeve. They were also wearing white wigs which Ken thought made them look a little silly.

"Are those her servants?" Ken asked curiously when Ran still made no move forward.

"Those are her carriers," Ran answered dully.

"Carriers? You mean they carried her in that thing?" Ken asked in disbelief. "No wonder they're so big. I thought that was for luggage."

"My Grandmother has trouble walking. She's very old and frail. She always greets mother, father, and Aya as soon as she arrives, but she stays with a friend on the next terrace up. Her luggage will have been taken there."

Ken looked at his husband again. Ran was clearly not happy. In fact, if Ken knew him better he might say he looked full of dread. He recalled the morning before when Ran had mentioned his grandmother without a hint of warmth and he'd supposed Ran was either hiding his emotions or just didn't feel anything. But two days in his husband's constant company had been enough for him to realize that the emotions were there, he just wasn't very adept at seeing them.

"I've changed my mind," Ken said trying his best to sound casual. "Let's go out to eat."

Ran's eyes widened perceptively and he finally stopped staring at the sedan-chair and faced Ken instead. He was definitely surprised.

Ken almost laughed. He found he liked surprising Ran. But he did owe him one. After all, Ran hadn't been angry with him for leaving Omi's, and he'd listened to him talk about his father's death and his brother without passing judgment. And, although he'd be loath to mention it aloud, trusting Ran with the truth had made him feel better. The best, in fact, that he'd felt in the last two months. And his new husband hadn't teased him about his feelings, so if Ran didn't want to see his grandmother then Ken would give him the excuse. It seemed the least he could do.

His reward was a small tentative smile.

"Thank you," Ran said, and Ken could feel the warmth.

"It's not too late. No one's see us yet," Ken added.

Ran's smile widened.

"Except the neighbors," he said and Ken blinked. "Their servants gossip with our servants. If we turn around and walk away the whole house will know about it within the hour."

Ken turned to search the windows of the large houses around them. Most were dark with lacy white curtains hiding anyone who might be there. He couldn't tell whether they were being watched or not, but he was distracted by the feel of long cool fingers clasping his right hand. He blinked back at Ran as he felt his cheeks suffuse with heat.

"Come on. I doubt that anyone has returned from Omi's yet, and there's no telling how long Grandmother's been waiting," Ran said as he began leading him toward the door. They took a number of steps before he stopped again and faced Ken. "I feel I should warn you, my Grandmother is not a pleasant person at the best of times and she has absolutely no use for me. She may...she probably will say...look, just ignore her as best you can."

Ken blinked at Ran again and then nodded. He wasn't sure what to say. That he'd guessed that Ran wasn't fond of her seemed inappropriate. Silently Ken resolved to follow Ran's instructions, and nodded again when his husband continued to hesitate.

Ran mumbled a thank you and they continued their trek to the door, ignoring the muscle bound attendants as they walked past.

Symington had apparently been on the look out for any of the family and he had the door open by the time they reached it.

"Just you then, Sir?" the butler asked anxiously.

"My parents and Aya are still at Omi's," Ran answered.

"Perhaps I should send someone for them," Symington murmured, quickly ushering them into the large hall and quietly closing the door. "She's been here quite a while, Sir."

"Her mood?" Ran asked glancing around at the various doors leading to the sitting rooms.

"Souring rapidly," Symington replied with a dour frown.

"Send someone," Ran instructed and he straightened up. "We'll go in to her. I expect she's come to meet Ken."

"I assume so, Sir."

"Where is she?" Ran asked eying the doors once more.

"The evening parlor, Sir. I told her it could be some time."

Ran turned to face the open double doors near the end of the hall and Ken felt him squeeze his hand which he hadn't yet released. Ken wondered if that was for his benefit or Ran's, since it seemed to be intentional.

"Let's go," his husband muttered and led him toward the doors at a march. That got them there rather quickly.

They hesitated outside in the hall for just a moment before entering, just long enough for Ken to get his first look at the old woman. He realized at once that she wasn't actually small, but bent almost double in her chair which gave her the appearance of being short and squat when in actuality she was tall and thin, or had been in her youth. Not unlike Ran. She was holding herself up with an elaborately carved cane that was painted gold and capped by a large, deep red stone. Those colors carried over onto her body which was swathed in a very formal and heavy brocade gown of red silk embroidered with gold thread. It looked almost as if it was weighing her down and holding her in her chair. Her snow white hair was tied around her head in a long braid, more red stones were sewn through it, their color made more intense by the pure white they were set against. The effect made her braid seem more like a crown.

All together she looked every bit the elderly, powerful matron of an old established family. The complete opposite of Ken's own soft, round grandmother who'd delighted in cuddling him when he was younger. He couldn't imagine this woman cuddling anyone. Ever.

"Ah, so here the creature comes," said a very sharp and precise voice.

Ken almost jumped when he realized it had come from the almost skeletal woman he'd been observing. There was certainly nothing weak about her voice, or her eyesight apparently, since she'd noticed them in the hall on her extreme left. Either that or she had extremely good hearing. She hadn't turned her head to address them, but as they entered Ken saw that she was following their progress across the room out of the corners of her eyes.

Ran led him into the center of the parlor and stopped there, facing her. Ken could feel her sharp, little eyes boring into him and he felt an instant dislike for the woman.

"Hello, Madame Giovanna," Ran said softly with no feeling at all. "I trust your trip was not overly taxing."

"It was," she snapped irritably. "And made all the worse by my having to wait here unattended."

"My apologies," Ran said. "The family are visiting the Tsukiono Household. They should be returning shortly."

"Yes, yes, I've heard all that. No doubt that bald headed butler would've sent someone out the moment I arrived had it been any other dinner invitation."

"No doubt," Ran agreed. "I have advised him to send someone at once."

"Very wise," the woman stated.

During the whole conversation her eyes had never once left Ken and he was beginning to feel the urge to fidget. He squeezed Ran's hand and stared back at the elderly matron in horrified fascination.

"I take it this is your new husband?" she asked at last, still looking at Ken rather than at her grandson.

"It is indeed, Madame," Ran answered.

"Well, introduce us," she snapped.

"Madame, this is Ken Hidaka-Fujimiya," Ran said, indicating him without releasing his hand. "Ken, this is Madame Giovanna Alexander-Fujimiya, former head of Fujimiya Trading."

"Former head indeed. You may count yourself lucky that I saw fit to hand over the business when my son came of age despite the accident of your birth," Giovanna stated, her eyes finally darting from Ken to stare hard at Ran. "But I will grant you that for once, and beyond all reasonable expectation, having a purely dispensable issue has proved an asset. Of course, it helps that that glorified farmer saw fit to have a superfluous offspring of his own. Imagine the audacity. Why he put the entire structure of society in jeopardy with his attempt to add to his bloodline. Stupid man. However, since some good has come from it I should not speak ill of him. And he is dead, so anything he thought he was getting away with has come to naught." She paused to study them again. Ran's painful grip on Ken's fingers was the only thing that held his tongue. "Yes. In this case, I suppose, two wrongs have indeed made a right. You have pleased me, though not through any efforts of your own. Still, I am pleased."

"We are very glad to hear it," Ran said stiffly.

"I should expect that you are," she stated, her eyes narrowed to slits and a mean little smirk turned up the edges of her thin mouth. "You may sit."

Ken mimicked the little bow Ran gave her and allowed himself to be steered toward the settee. His head was spinning from the tension and hostility he could feel ricocheting between Ran and Giovanna. He knew that if he hadn't been so shocked by what she'd said he'd have seen red, her words were far more hurtful and direct than Omi's had been. The more he thought about them the angrier he got, and by the time they were seated his own gaze burned and he was calling her names in his head.

"So, you aren't completely vacant," Giovanna addressed him when his eyes settled back on her's. "One did wonder."

Ken blinked, then scowled.

"Hey," he said, deciding to forget Ran's advice. "I'm not vacant at all," he said indignantly.

"I'm glad to hear it, although it was impossible to tell from your lack of expression," she replied airily.

"Ken," Ran muttered softly, in warning.

"At least I'm not rude," Ken said, choosing to ignore him and the tight grip he still had on his right hand.

"Rude? You think I'm rude?" she asked without appearing the least bit surprised or offended.

"Ken," Ran muttered again a bit louder.

"Yes, I do," Ken replied hotly.

"I have done nothing but express my opinions, and stated nothing but facts," she sniffed, looking quite unconcerned. "If you find me rude then you are in for quite a shock, my boy. That is if you are ever admitted into any decent society."

"If decent society is full of people who call their grandchildren 'creatures', and make uninformed comments about other people's parents, then I'll be glad if I'm left out of it," he barked.

"Uninformed? Excuse me, young man, but I'm afraid you'll find that I am quite well informed, and am usually correct in my opinions. And as for how I choose to refer to certain individuals, that is not your concern. I'll thank you not to mention our...connection," Giovanna admonished him.

"Why don't I ring for tea?" Ran asked harshly, casting Ken a warning glare.

"Since the 'individual' you're referring to happens to be my husband then it does concern me," Ken rejoined hotly, ignoring Ran again and glaring at Giovanna. "In fact, I don't think he should be exposed to the poisonous tongue of an ugly old hag! Come on, Ran. We're leaving."

So saying Ken shot to his feet, dragging a completely shocked Ran with him, and marched from the room leaving Giovanna sputtering in her chair.

Author's Note: Hello! Yes, I'm still alive and I'm currently in good health. Thank you to those who wrote to inquire. :) I'm sorry there was such a long wait for this update, but I had so much fun on vacation that I thought I'd keep going. Ha-ha! Actually, I started reading and once I start I have trouble stopping, and unfortunately, I can't seem to write and read at the same time. So, I apologize for the long wait, but hopefully this and the following chapters will make up for it. :) I'm currently writing chapter 17 and going strong, so there shouldn't be any more breaks, at least for a little while.

Thanks to Noir Raven Dravenwood for her review of chapter nine! Now that you've met Ran's grandma what do you think of her? ;P

Thanks to Ranchi Blade for her review of chapter nine! Yup, Ken is still shy and blushing, but where I'm writing now we're getting closer to that which you have been waiting for! I hope you enjoy all the chapters between this one and the one I'm working on now...or possibly the one after the one I'm working on now! ;)