I don't own Re:Zero or any of the characters. A.N. I don't actually know for sure how spirits or Spirit Arts really works, at least in full, but I'll make it as close as I can. Anyone with a thorough understanding feel free to message me to explain. For example, do the third classification, "spirits" have a form other than a ball of light, or is that only Great Spirits, Puck, and Beatrice, or are they balls of light like Minor and Lesser spirits? Or are micro or lesser spirits stronger, since the wiki says "minute" and "Quasi" so I'm not sure which is which. Also, is there a difference besides strength? Or how do the contracts actually work? Is it telepathic/verbal, or like Roswaal and Subaru sealing their contract?

Results

Ian smiled as Ram fussed over his new outfit. His normal one had been ruined after the fights with Elsa and Roswaal, so he'd been wearing a spare brown shirt and black pants while Rem and Ram made him a new outfit. He now wore a white jacket that reached mid-calf, a black dress shirt, a white tie, white dress pants, and custom white shoes that were more comfortable than anything he'd ever worn and durable enough to not wear out from being worn constantly.

"This tie is defective," Ram finally decided, after failing to get it to sit perfectly the thousandth time."

Ian chuckled, reaching up and adjusting it slightly making it comfortable and passably situated. "It doesn't need to be perfect."

"If Ram is going to hide the fact that you are a deplorable, indecent man, Ram needs to make you look perfect," Ram said.

Ian chuckled again. "Close your eyes."

Ram narrowed them, then sighed irritably and closed them. Ian lightly brushed his hand down the tie, twisting it slightly near the knot to make it straight but doing little to actually change it, then told her to open her eyes again.

Ram's eyes widened slightly before clearing her throat and looking away. "I suppose that will do."

Ian smirked at Rem, who grinned, but was watching her sister with her brow slightly furrowed. He wrapped an arm around her, tugging lightly, and Rem smiled, stepping into him and giving him a kiss. As he kissed her, he glanced at Ram, who was looking away, jealousy and shame shining from her eyes. As they separated, however, she hid the emotions perfectly. Ian smiled and they all headed outside, several balls of light forming around Ian within a few seconds of him calling. Most of them were simply balls of white light, but a few were green, identifying them as a slightly higher class of spirit than the rest, as well as being attuned to Wind Mana. They walked to a set of benches off to the side and sat down, Rem leaning on Ian's shoulder while Ram opened a book she'd been reading the last few days, but which had a blank paper cover over it which hid the title. Ian sighed comfortably, enjoying the peace and quiet, as well as the company, as he gazed down at the sword he'd gotten from Felix. He's had the blade reforged, but after the fight with Elsa, he'd decided to have it altered slightly. The blade looked exactly the same as ever, but had an ace of its own. If he channeled a tiny bit of mana into it, the blade would separate into sharpened segments, forming a bladed whip that could extend up to about five meters on a row of about a dozen braded cables, each of which were also razor sharp. It wasn't as long as he'd like, but with the blade the length that it was, any longer and the blade segments would then become useless.

"Oy, Ram," Garfiel called out fro, their left. "Let's spar! No transformin' er nuthin' but it'll be good exercise!"

"How brazen of you to believe you can handle Ram," Ram said, not moving.

"Oh just go kick his ass real quick," Ian smiled. "Just don't hurt him too bad."

Ram watched him for a moment before sighing and closing her book. "Very well."

Rem and Ian watched her walk over and begin to fight Garfiel. They were far from an even match, with Ram easily beating him around the yard, but with Garfiel's Divine Protection, he was able to keep going no matter how hard he hit her. Finally, Rem lifted her head, looking over at Ian.

"Can we go inside?" Rem asked. "I want to talk to you about something."

Ian nodded and they stood. "Ram, Rem and I are going to head inside for a bit. We'll be back out in a little bit."

Ram nodded as she deflected Garfiel's punch, drilling her own fist into Garfiel's chest and launching him. Ian smiled proudly, then followed Rem into the mansion and up to his bedroom. Rem sat on the bed and Ian sat beside her, only for her to turn to face him, Ian doing the same.

"I believe my sister may have developed feelings for you," Rem said. "It is the only thing I can think of to explain her recent behavior around you."

Ian hesitated before nodding. "I've noticed she's been acting differently."

Rem opened her mouth to speak before hesitating. "Do you...How do you...feel about her?"

Ian sighed heavily, lowering his head as he carefully decided how to explain his feelings. "I...I love her, as well. I love both of you. I have been since you both worked so hard to save my life after my magic activated the first time. When I shielded her from Elsa's blade, part of it was because I knew you'd be devastated if she was hurt or killed, but part of it was also because I wouldn't have been able to bear it if she'd died either. I'm sorry. I know it's wrong of me to be in love with both of you, but no matter how hard I try, I can't stop myself from feeling that way about her. But, I want you to know that even though I love her as well, I love you more. And I swear to you that I am yours, now and forever. I will never leave you. I will never betray you for someone else, even Ram, no matter how I feel about her, or how she feels about me. I am yours."

Rem smiled and nodded. "Thank you for being honest."

"Of course," Ian nodded, frowning in worried. "Are you mad?"

Rem shook her head. "I'm not mad, or hurt. I understand." She stared at the bed for a moment before nodding to herself. "I need to think a bit. And I'll need to speak with Ram about it as well. I'm still not sure if I'm right or not."

Ian nodded. "I love you."

"I know," Rem said. "Come on. We should head back outside."

Ian nodded and followed her out of the house, anxiety and guilt crushing his heart.

Rem sat up in bed, watching Ram as she finished getting her hair in order for the day. Finally, Ram turned to her.

"Is everything alright, Rem?" Ram asked.

Rem opened her mouth, hesitated, then decided to be blunt. "How do you feel about Ian?"

Ram's breath caught in her throat, her eyes going wide before sinking, her gaze falling to the floor. "You noticed, then."

Rem nodded. "You love him."

Ram nodded sullenly. "I'm sorry, Sister. I promise you I will never try to take him from you. I would never hurt you like that."

"I know," Rem smiled, though there was no happiness in it. "It's okay that you love him." Tears began to well up in her eyes. "I...I'll step back. I'll tell him I can't be with him, and...you can have him in my place. Ian told me already that he loves both of us, so you'll be able to take him without any trouble." She let out a shaky breath as tears rolled down her cheeks. "It's...It's...After I made you lose your horn..."

"What!?" Ram gasped. "No! Rem, you can't! Ram doesn't deserve for you to give her everything! Ram lied to you, and hid things from her! Ram doesn't deserve to be given everything, especially not this! Especially because your reasoning is wrong! My horn's loss was not your fault!"

Rem shook her head, smiling sadly. "It was. I wished to be better than you, and when you lost your horn, I was so happy that I smiled." Her eyes sank, her tears flowing even thicker. "I wished for you to not be better than me, so your horn was taken from you. I owe you everything, because I took away so much more than I could ever repay. So...this is what I've decided. You can't change my mind."

Ram bit her lip, shaking her head. "I can't accept this."

Rem climbed out of bed. "It is poor etiquette to refuse a gift." She picked up a shirt and pants for the day, as neither had been wearing their uniforms while they were being treated as guests, and left the room.

Ram grit her teeth, holding her fists to her face as she cried in frustration. This wasn't what she wanted. This was why she didn't want to fall in love with Ian, but her heart hadn't heeded her command, and now she'd broken her sister's heart.

Ian frowned as Rem walked away. She'd told him she'd be having lunch with Frederica, as well as spending most of the had with her, and had left before Ian could say anything. Ian sighed, walking out of the mansion. So that was how it was, then. He'd lost her. He'd followed the Gospel's instructions, and he'd lost Rem. And because Rem was hurt by Ian and Ram's feelings, Ram would hate herself for it. He grit his teeth, kicking a rock and sending it bouncing away, his toes instantly protesting, though not broken. He began to breathe deeply in an attempt to calm himself, but it did nothing but make him more and more furious at himself. Finally, a hand landed on his shoulder and he looked back, seeing Garfiel.

"Y'need t'blow off steam," Garfiel said evenly. "C'mon."

Ian nodded, following him to the more open area before both charged. Ian didn't both with his magic. At the moment, he was too angry at himself to wield it properly anyway, so instead, he and Garfiel simply traded blows. Garfiel seemed to understand that Ian needed to be able to land punches, so he didn't both dodging any more than Ian did, but he kept his power restrained to a level that wouldn't hurt Ian too badly. Ian's fury kept him going long past what he normally would be able to, however, and so the fight dragged on, and on, and on. At some point, Subaru, Emilia, and Beatrice came out to watch, and when Garfiel finally managed to put Ian down about fifteen minutes after they started, Emilia and Beatrice healed him. Then, they started again. The day continued largely in this fashion. Except, during their third match, Ian noticed something. He wasn't feeling angry as much anymore as he was enjoying the fight. He even realized that he was wearing an excited grin as they traded blow. He had also, at some point, begun to block and dodge again, Garfiel doing the same, always keeping his power about level with Ian's. Finally, as the sun was setting, Ian headed inside, heading to his room and changing into something not drenched in sweat and covered in grass stains, then put his clothes in the laundry.

Just as he turned to the bed, someone knocked on the door. He walked over and opened it, then stepped out of the way, letting Rem in. His heart compressed agonizingly at the fact that she had felt the need to knock, rather than just walking in like normal. Rem sat on the bed, staring at her lap, tears already filling her eyes. Ian walked over to kneel in front of her, forcing her to look at him.

"Talk to me," Ian said. "Please."

Rem nodded. "I'm going to step back. I'm going to get out of Sister's way so that she can-"

Ian pulled her into a kiss, silencing her. Rem squeaked in surprise and tried to pull away for a moment before sighing and returning the kiss. After a few moments, he pulled back, resting his forehead against hers.

"You can be so stupid sometimes, Rem," Ian said. "What makes you think I'm going to let you give me to Ram? After I swore to you that I'd be yours no matter what feelings exist between me and Ram, what makes you think I'm going to let you leave me so easily?"

"That's..." Rem trailed off, tears running down her face.

Ian snorted, shaking his head as he wiped her tears away. "I'm yours whether you like it or not, so you might as well just get used to it. I'll shackle your arm to mine if I have to. And that means that the only way for Ram to be with me would be for the two of you to share me." His smile fell, his expression softening. "But I will never have the right to ask that of you two."

"Is...that what you want?" Rem asked.

"Part of me does," Ian admitted. "I love both of you, so of course there's at least a part of me that wants to be with both of you, but I could never ask you to do that. I will never have the right to ask you two to do something like that. So instead of that, I'll just hold on to you as tight as you can an never let you go."

Rem smiled, kissing him softly. "I love you. I love you so much. Please don't ever let me go."

"Never," Ian smiled. "You're mine."

Rem smiled and nodded just as the door swung open, Ram walking in as it swung closed behind her.

"You can't give him to me!" Ram said, seeming to be beside herself with worry. "I won't let you! If me being here is getting in the way, then I'll leave!"

"Ram, it's okay," Ian said calmly, smiling appreciatively and holding out his hand.

Ram hesitated before walking over and took his hand.

"I'm not going to leave Ian," Rem said. "I'm sorry."

Ram shook her head instantly. "I'm glad. I don't want you to leave him. If you left him so I could be with him, I could never accept it."

Rem nodded, smiling, and took Ram's other hand, glancing at Ian for a moment before taking a breath. "Ian was...very clear that I was not allowed to leave him so that you could be with him." She paused, frowning. "There...There's another option. We could...We could share him, if you want to."

Ram frowned, lowering her gaze in thought. "Do you want to?"

"I...I don't know," Rem said. "I'm not going to leave Ian." She paused, thinking. "It hurt when I was planning to leave him, but not because of the thought that you would be with him. It hurt because I knew I wouldn't be." She stopped to consider again. "I think...I think I'd be okay with sharing him with you, as long as it means I can still be with him."

Ram's eyes watered and she nodded, smiling. "Thank you."

Ian raised his eyebrows. "So...you two are actually willing to..."

Both girls nodded.

"On one condition," Ram said. "Swear to Ram that she and Sister will always be the most important things in your life. Hold Ram and Rem above all else. Treasure only Ram and Rem."

"You have my word," Ian said. I swear that you two will always be the most important things in my life, and I will always love the two of you and only you. That's how it's been for a very long time."

Ram nodded smiling, then seemed to hesitate. "Can...Can I..."

Ian smiled, tugging her hand lightly. She stepped toward him and he met her with a kiss, Ram letting out a shaky sigh, leaning into him and kissing him back, her hand closing more tightly around his. Finally, she pulled back, smiling.

"Now show affection for Rem," Ram instructed.

Ian laughed, then kissed Rem, who kissed him back happily. After a few moments, she pulled away as well, smiling. Ian climbed into bed, Rem immediately joining him on his right, and both held out a hand to Ram. She smiled, almost shyly, before taking their hands and joining them in the bed as Ian pulled the cover up over them. Both of them snuggled into his sides and he smiled, wrapping an arm under them both.

"I love you two," Ian said.

"I love you," Rem smiled.

"Truly a shamelessly indecent man," Ram said, then reached up, kissing him. "You make an adequate distraction from Ram's sense of duty. Even with your lack of morals."

Ian laughed, kissing her again. "I love you too, Ram." He turned his head, kissing Rem, then closed his eyes, feeling both of them cuddle closer before all three drifted off to sleep.

Leave a review.