A/N: Happy belated new years! I'm kicking off this new year with a new story in a new category. Actually, I was planning to post something else but Accident Prone takes forever to answer (xD remember that intro we were talkin' about? I finished it but I want you to see it. I think your version or something you can add will be much better. x.x) Ahem. I've grown a new obsession to this pairing; let me see how long this one will last! :B (F.Y.I the title is two separate words, not the one word for 'beloved.')
Summary: There were three issues at hand: one, Richter never expected to let himself be accompanied. Two, no matter how much Emil tries, Richter will always see Aster. And three, Ratatosk can't help but meddle. |AU-ish|
Pairings: The main focused pairing is Emil/Richter. Depending how this goes along (especially with my improvised and broadened view of ideas flowing in to add to this ficcy ;-) probably a one-sided Emil/Ratatosk. (I'm still debating whether or not to add Marta for Ratatosk, so who knows. I'm alright with Marta. I just hate how much she was a clingy beep. Gosh. Has she ever heard of personal space? BACK OFF. Emil sooo has a man crush. xD) More to come, I swear. I do intend to add the TOS regeneration party, bear with me until then. :)
Extra notes: |Please READ.| I'm edgy, so please don't nitpick if I possibly have something incorrect. ;~; I'll do my best keeping the character in character. And yes, this is BL. Bite me…I just noticed my title has BL without meaning to. Oh snap. El oh el. I picked Luin 'cause that's the replacement hometown, it's much smaller and better to keep track than Palmacosta. The centurion cores are also nothing but valuable jewels worth A LOT of gald in this story and WON'T cause someone to go loony, maybe loony just to obtain them…I guess. The two world are connected (just like in the second game where the map is the whole two world) Alright? Luin's lake is dried up for a different reason and will be explained in further detail later, regeneration did happen. Neither Emil nor Marta (am I going to add her?) were affected by the tree. No blood purge of Palmacosta. Lloyd is still on his exsphere journey. The scenes are kinda mixed up, but you'll see. And that's it, I suppose. -w- 'Cause keep in mind this is AU-ish.
Disclaimer: Once upon a time there was a fan girl who wished the game suggested more Emil and Richter scenes. xD Don't own.

【Be Loved】

Two of a kind with only their personalities and eye color to differentiate the "twins," the siblings are subjected to isolation from the rest of the citizens in Luin for their oddities of "attracting" monsters without the essence of proof. The twins have already grown accustomed to the nature of those around them and have become a common target for bullying. The green-eyed blonde is that very target, curious in nature with a strong desire to make friends with people that are not completely hostile to him; his older brother truly compels the matter of personality. He is willing to "save" his younger twin but always has a further intent to do more harm than necessary, causing more trepidation in bystanders who watch his aggressive nature in action, it also includes a fear what could possibly happen if they dare drive the twins away from Luin.

Those twins are Emil and Ratatosk.

The light shining on Emil's face had him stir for a brief moment as he realized the food supply is low and the earlier the better to catch fresh meat, he rose up from his bed and tugged the curtains together to block out the spectrum of light coming from the rising sun. In a hurry to wash up, Emil tripped on his footing to miraculously land only a few inches away from the hard wooden floor, his heart pounded heavily and he regained his composure to grab the sword hidden beneath the table. He sighed to the task at hand, more frequently it would be Ratatosk who would typically do the hunting, the saving, the everything. Emil's expression sullen – he considers himself positively useless in every aspect, sometimes he feels his own twin must be a saint to have the patience to deal with someone so weak. Before he departed, Emil prepared a decent breakfast whenever Ratatosk ever decides to wake up.

Stepping outside in the invigorating warmth helped him ease his mind about his own flaws, the town felt preeminent when everyone is still fast asleep and hardly much of a clamor when the ambient laughs of children in background has been muted. The trail to the nearby forest is reasonably close to Luin; only to get a catch is fairly difficult but all worth it when usually the size matters and how long they can go until the next hunt arrives. Emil strode his way out Luin, his frail nature drove his emotions to the pinnacle fear at the sight of the nearby woods, a sword he could barely handle as his weapon. If it was his twin, the red-eyed blond would have no problem striking down whatever may come his way.

Emil shook his head furiously, No! I can't always rely on Ratatosk!

The dim sunlight has yet to reach the far end of the forest, but entering too deep would only leave the trembling blond to a secluded area with an opening to a cave filled with monsters everyone in Luin has been muttering about and also the site where several kids who are morning risers that come to pick on him. Emil chuckled lightly at one particular experience to reveal his twin's secretive brotherly overprotection to Emil.

It was just another day where the skyline approached the brink of keeping daylight and night, a vague hint rain was soon to come and overcast the sky. The emerald hued volunteered in Ratatosk's place to bring fresh meat during his "sickly" state—the other day he had to save Emil from drowning in a freezing lake when he tried fishing for a meal instead, of course, that is when the lake actually had water before it instantly dried up a few weeks later—and Emil only thought of it as miracle he was let off easy right after the incident. As Emil was confronted with a wild rabbit, someone beat him to the kill—however, Emil had a weak heart and stomach to kill no matter how much he had truly to—and the sight of massive blood splatter churned Emil's stomach and eventually made him faint on the spot.

Regaining his conscious a little later, Emil woke up puzzled to be in the middle of the secluded area with new scratches covering his hands, legs, arms, and once he brushed his finger against his cheek Emil reasoned he had several cuts on his face too. His eyes were frantic to pinpoint his location, his eyes widened like saucers when he witnessed his twin lifting up a teen by the collar whilst another one on the cold ground clutching his ribs.

Emil's hearing and sight felt blurred and uneven, the sounds that awoken his senses was his twin's venomous shrill voice screaming at the two staring at the red-eyed blond with terror.

"You bastards! How dare you leave Emil here when there's these damn monsters wandering around?" Ratatosk barked at the teen he held by the collar, his free hand clenched tightly into a fist. "Did you think I wasn't going to find out?"

Emil's legs felt very weak but he still dashed to stop his twin, heart racing once gripping Ratatosk's wrist to prevent him punching the child on the face. He could sense the murderous gleam in Ratatosk piercing fixed glower, unquestionably a punch would never satisfy the wrath Ratatosk would usually tolerate. The elder twin craned his neck with deep scowl etched on his face that quickly dissipate to a less menacing grimace, the glint in his red eyes soften to a degree as he released the boy's collar, ultimately letting the injured teen drop to the floor and crawling towards his other friend in order to escape.

"Emil…" his twin softly spoke, his eye twitched in an instant as he took his fist and lightly bonked Emil on the head. He looked down momentarily, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration. "You're such fool."

Emil mouthed an apology; he then loosened the scarf around his neck and then tied it around his twin's neck. Ratatosk stood there stiff, stunned by Emil's course of action. Ratatosk observed Emil fishing out a napkin out his pocket, drawing it close to Ratatosk's nose. He snatched the napkin to dry the unpleasing mucus sensation in his nose – after all, his cold isn't quite gone after saving Emil in the freezing lake just a few weeks earlier.

"T-thanks for being here for me," Emil whispered audible enough for his older twin to hear. He laughed softly when red-eyed blond swiped the napkin right out his hand – there has always been extent to such kindness as Emil already knows by practically spending every minute of the day with Ratatosk. Despite how much he has been aware of his twin's judgment and actions, on that same dim-lighted sky Emil missed his chance to see Ratatosk rapidly turning away with his signature frown and the faintest blush creeping on face that reflected clearly on the lake.

Emil snapped out of his recollection of memories with his twin - was hardly the appropriate moment to think back and rather the time to concentrate trying his best to catch a beast for dinner – if he doesn't faint this time. The bushes rustled, causing Emil to grasp the sword for dear life. First a set of long ears popped outward from the bush, followed by the body as Emil faced a common creature of the area: a wild rabbit. Its ebony eyes were fixed quizzically on Emil for a fraction of a second until it hopped off in full speed, leaving the stumbling blond boy to chase after it. Emil's wild rushing footsteps disturbed the still air around the forest, disrupting some fairly ornery monsters already eager to find a scrumptious trouble-free prey for an uplifting breakfast.

He made an immediate halt arriving upon the desolate area he found himself last time. Emil's body began quaking after his eyes met with the cave rumored to be filled with an assortment of monsters that could come out at any given time. Maybe he should have let Ratatosk: he would have returned faster with a beast for dinner than Emil, better yet, less frightened than Emil. He brushed away his blond bangs that obscured his vision and turned his heel, instantly his body pressed into something…fuzzy.

"Oh! S-sorry! I-I wasn't loo-" Emil instantly sealed his lips when the figure was no ordinary figure, no less when such a creature heavily breathed on him. His teeth began to chatter, his only movement of action is to take a step back and pray for his life the bear he confronted would perhaps spare him. The monster slowly opened its jaw impatiently and raised its large paw up to swipe, ready to directly kill its new prey.

This…this is the end…I…I don't want to die! Emil repeated to himself as he clenched his eyes tightly, the grip on his sword already loosened and the gelid metal made a clattering noise once it collided with the ground.

Ratatosk scratched his unruly head of blond hair; it is always such a pain right in the morning his hair tangled. He looked around in the room, rubbing one eye to clear his hazy sight. The bed across from him laid a pile of neat sheets with pillows topped right on the side, as he looked down on his own bed the sheets was scrunched and on the corner beside the bedpost were his pillows already cold from the countless hours left lying on the floor. He gave a standard blink, and then forced himself out of bed to stretch his body. Lazily he made his way to the other room, the table had a single plate covered with a sheet of thin transparent plastic – much to his discontent the food were carvings of various creatures like turtles and squids from vegetables, beside the veggies laid smiley-face grapes.

He furrowed his eyebrows together, sighing in exasperation to Emil's carving habits involving food. Food is meant to be eaten, no matter the oddity in appearance or the texture. He adverted his red eyes then crossed his arms together recalling a time where Emil was hesitant to eat his food because it looks "rough." Speaking of Emil, Ratatosk thought, where did he go?

Ratatosk fastened his shoes, completely forgetting the idea to eat once realization struck him that his younger twin went hunting: the sight of sword usually left beneath the table now vacant. The boy growled, muttering a string of curses albeit the treacherous feeling Emil could have run into trouble like he tends to, especially with the children and adults in Luin. Ratatosk's hand held onto the door knob, the loud chattering of carefree children running disrupting the atmosphere and his nerves. As if on schedule, once Ratatosk took the first step out, stares were set on him all around. Children froze on their spots and made space to let the blond pass.

Emil always suffers because of his attitude towards people and because of the rumors of being the "wicked children" who will only bring misfortune to Luin with the monsters they "attract," that and his fiery short-temper to snap at anyone. There were several occasions several bold children would try to befriend Emil but Ratatosk always interfered, cutting the line Emil has to making friends. Emil has learned to fend off his depression by looking out the window, smiling with a vague hint of sadness behind it. When the children outside are having such an enjoyable time Emil would touch the cold window that could reflect the emptiness he felt inside. Ratatosk would then eventually inspect the window littered with fingerprints.

For the longest time Emil has yearned friendship outside of spending time with his own sibling, by every passing year it only becomes more difficult with this timid nature. The teen bit down on his lip, growling as he stomped on the stairs and caught the children whispering to one another about Emil's whereabouts, someone who followed shortly after, and the forest surrounding Lake Sinoa. Ratatosk went running out of Luin and towards the direction of the forest, slapping away upcoming vines and branches, ignoring the presence of danger with monsters simply lurking in shrubs or trees.

His safety was brushed aside in an instant: Emil is his top priority. Ratatosk feared the worst-case scenario that whoever went to the forest may harm Emil, if not that, a monster would kill Emil.

A blur of yellow made Ratatosk backstep, his worst fear unfolded as red eyes met an intimidating bear extending its paw to slash his younger twin to his death – his sibling who always had patience for him, who could deal with someone like him, the only one he has.

The bear let out a roar and swiped.

A challenge would never hurt. No, scratch that.

A challenge would suffice all the petty missions.

And finally a task has come willing to test his strength…for jewels. Apparently these jewels, these Centurion Cores, grant the fortunate one who gathers them all unimaginable wealth and power. A journey is a journey, regardless of the task but dangers do involve for not only are groups of people are usually looking for the jewels, monsters are attracted to this magical infusion within these cores. Most of the information gathered by the Cores was thanks to Aster who studied a core he found deep inside the cavern near the small town, once his research brought him somewhere he had full intentions to bring it right back with his faithful best friend.

Of course, they weren't alone.

Once they reached the very end of the cave, Aster was vibrantly chattering on any topic that struck him, thus leaving Richter unaware of figures approaching them with weapons. Aster placed the core back in its rightful place, commenting how much he would sulk later leaving behind such a beautiful piece of research in Lake Sinoa's musky cave – Aster always said no matter how wonderful the research material can be, if it can be put back then the best discovery was just finding it. His brown eyes widened when a figure with a club struck Richter by the side of the neck, Aster's mouth was left open wide agape as he failed to warn his friend. There wasn't just one person but a whole group and their resembling tattered uniforms made Aster instantly assume they were from a poor community of oppression and entirely adamant to steal the bright jewel.

Richter felt an excruciating pain on his left shoulder, his vision was blurred and body was too stunned to move at the given moment. Aster was defenseless without a weapon and the group approached the blond with their weapons ready in hand and the nastiest snickers. Richter did his best to regain the mobility to move his stiff arm, or more importantly to save Aster from being the wrongful victim for a jewel some people were after. His green eyes glared at the group pressuring Aster to the corner, Richter's body limped on one side as he sheathed his sword out and charged at the men, conquering in victory to get them all by surprise.

Within minutes of saving Aster from an impending death the blond researcher aided the redhead towards the exit—after placing the core back, that is—without noting whether or not the men were dead – Aster respected Richter's idea on how he defeated enemies, unconscious or dead. A man forced himself on his feet, charging with the last bit of his strength towards the pair. The combination of humiliation and malicious intentions drove the man more to slaying Richter, and once Aster looked back…he shoved Richter right out of the way and took the blow for his best friend.

Richter's eyes drifted towards the road where he caught sight of a boy around his teens with an appearance resembling his deceased friend, the blond came out of Luin unaware of anything around him. Curiosity got the better of him to follow this Aster look-alike—although Richter still reminded himself of his real task at hand to collect the cores—the boy drifted further into the woods and towards direction of the cave. Richter suddenly felt he lost sight of the blond once he made an abrupt turn to chase after something, so in turn made Richter picked up the pace after said blond.

The redheaded man found Emil staring at the cave entrance, never acknowledging the fact a large bear is already approaching the unsuspected Emil. His face, his body—everything resembled Aster! But how could a dead person suddenly be resurrected to such a state? On impulse, Richter never had time to confirm the existence of Aster being the blond teen he sees now once the bear raised its paw, his mind only assumed it would be Aster and could not bear the thought of his best friend dieing twice.

The bear swiped, but Richter made in just in time to eradicate the monster with a quick swift of his blade.

Emil hesitantly opened his eyes and thought he would see the fluffy clouds of the heavens above, somehow he thought death would usually be far more painful until fully dead. He gasped to see a man standing before him and the bear lying dead somewhere beneath his foot, the sun was beaming down on him and made his redheaded savior look—

Radiant, Emil thought.

Emil squeaked when he was instantly forced around to meet with his enraged twin brother.

If looks could kill, I think I would be dead ten times over. I'm scared…

Emil had every right to be scared; Ratatosk has such a fiery temper and occasionally would get angered with Emil, but never furious as he is now.

"You idiot, you could have gotten killed!" Ratatosk shouted, biting off the urge to beat some sense into Emil. "Who the hell told you to come here? Answer me, Emil!"

Emil's eyes were close to watering, immediately signaling Ratatosk to be a little gentler. The red-eyed blond sighed in exasperation, "Pathetic little…forget it! We're going home, now."

Ratatosk fully expected Emil following close behind, giving him a reason not to show any indication of looking back. Instead, Emil sunk his head in humiliation at his savior, mumbling in his lowest volume, "I…um…thank you…for saving me."

Richter either did not hear Emil or rather ignored the gratitude, he hid the feeling of disappointment to find his unrealistic hope far beyond shattered. His green eyes gazed down at Emil, startling the teen with a visible flinch.

"Are you just going to let him talk to you like that?"

Not much was said after that unless counting the uneasy silence between them, he heard Ratatosk screaming for Emil to rush over, and once Emil looked back at his redheaded savior the man has already begun to walk the other direction for Luin. Richter felt it would be best to restock on several supplies so he would not have to rely on magic, he pursed his lips in displeasure that it could have been already done with before he followed the Aster look-alike. If there was anything more Richter detested in this world it would be wasting valuable time for nothing, especially since that boy was no Aster and also wasted his time saving a stranger – must be Aster's influence.

Then again, what was he hoping for? Aster is dead.

As for Ratatosk, he came back and dragged both the slain bear and his lost-in-thought brother. Hopefully a full stomach would ease his nerves or the irritating feeling to be overly worried—although hardly shown on his expression—for his sibling's safety. He nonchalantly concluded that Emil is prone to danger one way or another.

The bear was minced and the rest stored away for future dinning. So for the next few hours Emil has been dazed, albeit paying hardly paying any attention to the preparation of the meal, the result was still favorable. He made rice balls and subconsciously made several of the rice balls into a cat or rabbit-shaped heads, the seaweed made great use for whiskers, eyes, nose, and even rolled up for the perfect bunny ears – it was starting to scare his older twin silly. Ratatosk first snapped his fingers a couple of times in front of Emil's face, his shouts also proven futile. The red-eyed blond sighed in defeat and settled himself near the window. Ratatosk blinked in surprise, "Hey, Emil, that guy is outside."

Emil dropped the rice ball on the counter and scrambled over to the window with a large grin on his face, he didn't even detect how his twin growled for being rudely pushed aside just so Emil could get a better look. For the strangest reason Ratatosk found Emil's mood to resemble a dog wagging its tail, all he needs is a costume, the ears…

The red-eyed blond clamped his mouth shut and rushed to the bathroom.

Emil pumped his fist in the air, determined more than ever to thank the man who saved his life. Once Emil squinted as Richter started to drift away, his expression was neutral but more like 'I-dare-you-to-piss-me-off' look, causing Emil to whimper and reconsider the idea. He prayed the situation won't go wrong or some of the kids tried to mock him again, blaming him and Ratatosk for the dried up lake in Luin.

All because…

Emil shook his head and shot straight out the door, descending down the stairs hastily to catch up with his savior.

A/N: Several of the monsters look edible…even though I don't eat animals. owo C'mon! Shouldn't the meat in the game come from SOMEWHERE? Err. Further background details and stuff will come in later chapters. Review will deeply be appreciated, but I still go on even if I don't get one. :) Hoo-fawking-rah. A RichterxEmil ficcy, squee~! x3 Be gentle if ya review~! And thank you so much for reading this! :3 Eh. This chapter look sloppy. D: