This is a work of fiction and in no way reflects mine or anyone else's views of the bible. If you have a problem with two guys being together, or are not comfortable with the idea of Adam being with anyone other than Eve, please leave now.

Just an idea I came up with. Please, if you have the intention of flaming, I suggest just clicking out. I will not tolerate it. I will report it the first time with no replies. You've been fairly warned.

The Garden of Eden was such a peaceful place. Adam knew this because God had told him so. He had never been anywhere else, nor did he feel a desire to ever leave the Garden that he had been born into. The lush green grass and trees were perfect to lie in and climb to his heart’s content. The bark did not mar his naked skin, nor did any bites leave their mark on the perfect alabaster lines. Pain was an unknown concept, and boredom was not able to be comprehended.

Most times, Adam spent his time with Eve, or alone, which was the only alternative. He did not mind Eve’s company; he actually quite enjoyed. Still, there were times when he wished God would make more humans. He wanted others to interact with. It was not that he tired of Eve’s company, but rather that he felt the Garden was much too big for just the two of them. He talked to God by the field of grain, asking for companions. God created for him Lilith and Stephen.

However, the two newcomers were impure. They were created from the core of the earth rather than the clay like Adam, or a rib like Eve. God would not allow them to live in the Garden of Eden, but he let them set up a humble abode just outside its gates.

Adam was sad; he did not ask God to make more people just so they would not be allowed inside the Garden’s walls. He watched the newcomers toil outside the gate, watching from the top of a very grassy hill. Food was not given to them; they had to search for it themselves and prepare it, which was a messy process. At night they shivered and during the day they would sweat. This Adam saw day in and day out, and he cried for them. For the first time, man had discovered empathy, and Adam knew this meant he must interact with these newcomers, despite the fact that they were not in the Garden.

He made his way to the gate, making it there by daybreak. The two could just be seen sleeping on a rock, their bodies shaking without cover or impedance from wind. Adam cried to see his fellow man suffer so. The sound of his tears awoke Stephen, who stared at him with eyes of sadness and hardship. Adam gasped. He had not seen this before. It made his heart ache to see how bad life was outside of the garden.

Stephen rose and approached the other side of the gate. He was mere inches away from Adam, but he might as well have been miles for all the difference it made. Adam reached out a hand to the man and Stephen clasped it like a lost treasure.

“My brother,” Adam said sadly, “I have ached to meet you for many days now. I have felt your pain.” Stephen smiled softly.

“My brother,” he replied, “You should not be speaking with me. God has informed my partner and I that we are unworthy of your presence. Our only purpose in life is to serve you and stand guard outside this gate so no unsavoury sorts can enter. You must go back to yours.”

“I will not,” Adam protested adamantly. Even while he said it, he felt deep shame. He knew that to defy God’s will was a sin. He knew that God was the Almighty, and every word from his Creator’s mouth was meant to be obeyed. However, he could not obey this particular order. Every second his brethren spent in unhappiness was an eternity of sadness on his heart.

He pressed a hand to the smooth face of Stephen.

“What is so different about us?” Adam inquired. “We both have bodies; hair; skin; I can feel your heart beating through you as mine does me. What is so different about you that you cannot be allowed here, where I am? Why does God view you as impure when we are the same?” Stephen shook his head sadly.

“I do not know, brother. All I know is that God has said this, and we must obey him.” He removed Adam’s hand gently, pushing it back to him through the gate with all the tender sweetness of a mother comforting her young. “Go home, please. Go back to Eve and live in happiness. Do not worry for us, for we may live in hardship but it is worth it. You will remain safe because we are here.” Stephen left Adam standing alone at the gate, going to wake Lilith so they could start another day of simply living with no reason to live. Adam’s heart ached more than ever. He did not leave but instead slept near the gate and took his meals there, simply watching. Lilith looked at him strangely at times, but Stephen paid him no acknowledgement for the most part; save for the occasional pitying glance.

Adam fell asleep during the day at one time, a thing he had never done before. He always slept at night and awoke during the day. His eyelids simply felt so heavy that he had to close them, curling in front of the gate in the soft grass until he drifted on clouds of soft peace.

When he woke, it was to a sound he had never heard before. He opened his eyes and was met with a strange sight. Stephen and Lilith were both on the rock they slept on, in a strange sort of joining. Their hips were together with seemingly no means, and loud cries without words echoed through the desolate land outside the Garden. He stared curiously at the sight, even when Stephen looked up. The shame in his brother’s eyes was evident, but Adam did not look away. He was curious as to what purpose this joining served, and while it was strange indeed he did not think it was a thing to be embarrassed about.

When the two were obviously finished with this strange sort of dance, they simply lay there, breathing quickly and in a manner that suggested something was wrong. Adam sat up quickly, thinking his brethren were dying. He was scared when Lilith’s eyes closed and she lay still, but he could see the rise and fall of her chest and was relieved. Stephen rose and went to the gate, staring at Adam still sitting in the grass. Adam stared back, curiously. This was the first attention Stephen had paid to him since their meeting.

“I…am sorry,” his brother said, his eyes downcast with deep shame. His hands gripped the bars of the gate tightly. “You were asleep. I am deeply sorry. I could not control myself.” Tears fell from his eyes as he clenched them shut. Adam thought this was a curious thing; he had never tried to stop any of his tears.

“I have corrupted you,” Stephen said softly.

Adam rose and made the short distance to the gate. He cradled the dark-haired head in his hands, pressing a brief kiss to the smooth skin above the eyes.

“What corruption have you put into play? I feel no need to sin, nor do I feel that you have done anything that will make me want to.” He offered a smile as the other man looked up. “My brother, corruption cannot come from the hands of love. I love you deeply, perhaps as much as God Himself; and nothing you do could ever corrupt me. Still, I am curious as to what you and yours were participating in.” Stephen’s face grew red with blood and he looked away with shame once more.

“Lilith calls it…sex. She says it is a thing males and females do to feel pleasure and to procreate. So far, we have not been able to procreate, but the pleasure is true.” He closed his eyes. “Such a feeling comes with a price, however. The shame I feel at feeling pleasure with something other than obeying God is much to bear. Yet, I cannot stop.” He looked sad, so much that Adam had to embrace him through the bars or his heart would burst from the sadness he felt at his brother’s plight.

“How can something that feels good be a sin?” Adam wondered aloud. Stephen said he did not know, he just felt that it was wrong. Secretly, Adam was curious as to how this ritual felt. He wanted to ask Eve, to see if she would be willing to participate in such an act to help him find out. He told Stephen that he was leaving for a while, but that he would be back, before setting out to search for Eve.

It took him a fortnight to find her. She was resting near the waterfall with her eyes closed though she was not asleep. They flew open at his approach and she smiled in greeting.

“Adam,” she said happily, “You have returned. I have missed you; where have you been?” Adam bent to embrace her and kiss her forehead in greeting.

“I have simply been near the gate, speaking with the newcomers. They are quite fascinating individuals.” Eve looked away, an obviously disinterested look on her face.

“They are not even allowed inside the Garden; Adam, I don’t believe you should be interacting with them.” She grasped his hand tightly. “Just stay with me. You will be happier in the Garden than looking outside at God’s failed creations.” For the first time, Adam felt the spark of a hot feeling in his chest that was not empathy but something more dangerous. He saw Eve in a different light; not like him at all; not like Stephen, either.

He was here for a reason, though, so he cleared his thoughts and told Eve about what he’d seen Stephen and Lilith doing outside the gate. Her expression was one that nearly ripped his heart in two; one of disgust.

“It is barbaric…what could be more pleasurable than God; how is it possible for a human to find pleasure in another human?” Adam could see he would get nowhere with Eve and so he stood up. She protested and tried to pull him back, claiming he should remain with her, but he couldn’t listen and left. He no longer found joy in her presence. Rather, that hot feeling was back again, and he didn’t like it.

She did not follow him back to the gate, possibly from fear of the two outside the Garden. Adam returned to his usual spot to find Stephen gone. Lilith was standing over a fire, burning the body of some animal over it. She looked up when Adam approached and smiled.

“You are Adam,” she said simply. It was not a question, merely a statement of what both of them already knew. “I am Lilith.”

“I know,” he said, watching her move the burning carcass further from the fire. She approached the gate, but did not touch it as Stephen had.

“I have seen you watching my partner and I,” she stated, a smile adorning her face. Her eyes had a strange spark to them, one that Adam could not identify. He nodded in agreement.

“I have found interest in both of you. It is nice to talk to another human.” Adam smiled back. “My brother, Stephen, has spoken to me of your ways. I find it interesting.” A small frown creased the pretty face of Lilith. Her black hair fell in her face as her attention left him and she stared longingly into the Garden beyond.

“How I wish I could spend just one day there,” she said regretfully. “God has told me I am unclean and would only taint the soil of this sacred Garden. How I wish this were not true. I have seen you inside, and you seem happy.” A smile lit up her face once more. “Adam, my dear brother, please open this gate for me. I promise I will not stay long; I simply want to know what it is like to be truly happy.” Adam was hesitant. God had forbidden both of them from coming inside the Garden. He did not dare anger the Lord. He shook his head.

“I cannot,” he said regretfully. “It is not my place to go against God. Both of us could be punished for disobeying him.” He was truly sorry. The joy Lilith had felt at the prospect of even a second of happiness withered from her face, leaving a look that made his heart ache.

“I see…” she said softly. She turned from the gate, arms clutching her own skin, tears falling from her eyes. Adam couldn’t take it; he couldn’t stand seeing her so sad.

“Wait…” he reached through the bars. “Wait; I’ll let you in. Please stop crying.” The smile was back on her face quickly.

“Really? You will? Oh, Adam, you’ve made me so happy.” Adam smiled back. To make another happy was certainly a wonderful feeling.

“Lilith, do not do that. You know we cannot go inside.” Stephen appeared suddenly, laden with wood and another animal carcass. He dropped his cargo on the ground, staring at Lilith pointedly. “It’s your turn to go get water.” Lilith glared at Stephen, but did as she was told, brushing past the man with an air of haughtiness.

“Please forgive her,” Stephen said, approaching the gate. “She is a creature of sin, as I am. She knows not what she does.” He smiled at his brother. “It is nice to see you again, Adam. I have missed your presence, admittedly.”

“The same can be said for me, brother,” Adam said. “I have visited Eve and told her about you, but she refuses to believe you are good. She refuses to meet you, or participate in the act you and Lilith practice.” He was sad, for he did love Eve despite these things. “I suppose it matters not. Still, I wish she would come here and see how wonderful you are.”

Stephen’s face grew red and he looked away.

“Don’t say things like that…I am a creature of sin while you are perfection incarnate. It’s not right.” He shook his head. “You should stop coming here. You need to go further into the Garden and never return to this spot.”

“We are both the same,” Adam said stubbornly. “If you are a creature of sin, then so am I; if I am perfection incarnate, then so are you. Please, I beg you to stop pointing out differences that are not there. You are my brethren and I love you whether you’re inside this Garden or not.

“Stop it,” Stephen said. He looked about nervously. “If God hears us talking this way you could be punished.” For once in his short life, Adam truly did not care whether God punished him or not. When he was first born, he felt that God was the ultimate power, always to be obeyed without question. However, he had begun to think things that may have been considered blasphemous. He began to think that, maybe, God didn’t always know what was best. Maybe humans couldn’t rely fully on God. Maybe sometimes God needed to be defied. Maybe he wasn’t as all-knowing and all-powerful as Adam was first led to believe. He felt ashamed for questioning the being that had given him life, but he knew he wasn’t wrong.

“Stephen, I have a favour to ask you. Please, indulge me.” Curious, the darker-haired man nodded his head to indicate he was listening. Adam leaned forward so he could speak in a low voice, as if afraid someone would be listening even though it was only the two of them.

“I wish to participate in the act Lilith and yourself were participating in before. Since Eve will not, I was hoping you could show me.” Stephen leapt away from the bars as though they burned him.

“No,” he said adamantly, checking on the food by the fire as an excuse not to look at the light-haired man inside the Garden. “No, I will not. Adam, you are far too curious for your own good. Go back into the Garden and forget this nonsense. Forget us and live in happiness. You and Eve are the only ones capable of this.”

“I was never happy in this garden,” Adam protested. “I didn’t realize this until I met you, but I can’t go back to that life now. Stephen, please don’t make me.” Still his brother stayed with his back towards the gate, stubbornly refusing Adam’s request. Adam did not want to do what he knew he had to do to get Stephen to agree, but the prospect of going back to Eve and living the way he previously had while knowing there was more to life was a maddening prospect.

“I order you to,” he said quietly. Stephen looked over his shoulder at the slumped figure leaning on the gate. “I am a higher being, and I order you to teach me your ways.” Stephen stared at him, the most devastating look on his face. Adam could hardly bear what he had done, but what was done had been done. He had defined their relationship as one being over the other; he had separated them with the largest chasm, and there was no going back. Stephen rose from the fire and made his way slowly to the gate where Adam was waiting.

“It will corrupt you,” he protested weakly. “You will never be free from sin again.”

“I think I am capable of knowing that which will corrupt me,” Adam said stubbornly. “I do not think this is it.” Stephen had lost, and both knew it. The defeated look on his face spoke volumes.

“I cannot come in, so you must come out,” Stephen said, stepping back from the gate. Adam found the latch easily and lifted it. No sound was made as it swung inward, and Adam stepped out onto the cool dirt outside the Garden. The first thing he did was wrap his arms around his brother, both a thank-you and a longing.

“I have wanted to embrace you without bars separating us for a long time,” Adam said quietly. “It is nice to be able to fulfill this.” Stephen did not embrace him back, but he said nothing as he stepped back. His brother’s face was still full of shame. He reached for him to kiss him on the forehead.

“Please do not make that expression,” he said sadly. “When you are sad, I feel the same. I can hardly bear to see it.” Stephen shook his head.

“How can I not make this expression when I have failed in my mission? I was told to guard the gate and keep you safe; but here you are, outside.” He embraced the other, his warmth enveloping Adam. “You are in danger out here; I can hardly bear the thought of something happening to you.” Adam smiled. Stephen’s worry made him feel warmth in his heart.

“As long as you are here, I am safe,” Adam said. “Do not worry so; I trust you will not let anything happen to me.”

“You shouldn’t care about me,” Stephen said, releasing his hold on the somewhat smaller man. “God has separated us for a reason. We are both human, but our representation is such that we should not interact.”

“If there is ever a time in my existence in which I should not care about my brethren, then I would rather not exist at all.” Adam shook his head. “I had hoped you thought the same, but perhaps I was mistaken. Perhaps this endeavour is in vain, for you are as stubborn as Eve.” He looked away sadly. He had thought he had found a companion in Stephen, but perhaps he was not as good a candidate as he was first led to believe. Perhaps to be human meant to be the way these two were, and maybe he was the odd one. Maybe he was wrong.

He was spun around to face Stephen and then the taller man’s lips touched his own. It was a strange sensation, done much like a kiss but different. When Adam kissed people, it was on the forehead or occasionally the cheek. He knew a kiss was meant to convey love, but this kiss was so strange that he did not know how to take it. He stared at his brother as he slid a distance from him, curiosity buzzing around his brain.

“I…apologize,” Stephen said humbly, not meeting Adam’s eyes. “It was simply something that I felt I had to do. Forgive me.”

“There is nothing to forgive,” Adam said quietly. He was finding it hard to think for some reason. His mind kept going back to how soft Stephen’s lips had been; how safe and right it had felt to be so near to the other man. He took a step closer. “Would you please do that again?” Stephen didn’t wait for further encouragement, cradling Adam’s face in his hands and pressing his lips almost painfully against the other’s. Somehow, both of them knew that what they were doing was wrong, but neither of them made any move to leave the intimate embrace. Sinning; defying God; none of that mattered now. All they knew; all they cared about was being closer and sating the sudden lust that had gripped their limbs.

“I do not know if sex can be done without the presence of a woman,” Stephen gasped, parting briefly from the other man, much to the disdain of Adam, “But I think I would like to try anyway. I feel like it is something that needs to be done…”

“This feels right,” Adam said, kissing the dark-haired man briefly. “I will be a woman for you if you so wish me to be. Please do not turn me away again.”

“Never.” Stephen led him to the rock that had served as his and Lilith’s bed since they had been created. There was no grass as far as the eye could see, and the taller man bemoaned the lack of it. His makeshift bed was hard and uncomfortable and he did not want to subject Adam to it. The smaller man protested, claiming he did not mind, but Stephen still silently wished for something softer.

It was awkward, mostly because Adam did not have the hole that Lilith had. He found a separate one, but was still afraid because it was much smaller. He just knew he would hurt Adam, instinctively, and several times tried to protest the joining, but Adam insisted he wanted him to. As Stephen pushed past the tight barrier of skin, Adam for the first time experienced real pain.

It faded after a time, but it was one of the most horrific experiences of his life. Having never felt pain before, it came as a horrible shock to know what it felt like. Empathy didn’t compare to experiencing it firsthand.

Stephen had been right about the pleasure, though. It felt good; better than anything he’d ever experienced in the Garden. It was unbelievably amazing to have the other man’s body cover his so completely, and surprisingly good even when he knew a part of it was wrong. The pleasure building in his body heightened, climbing up and up to God Himself before creating a mess that trickled between their bodies and left both men exhausted.

The dark hair of Stephen tickled his skin as the man rested his head on his chest, but he didn’t protest it, instead letting his fingers run over the dark mound. It was softer than he would have thought. Stephen ‘hummed’ in approval to his actions, but for the moment didn’t speak. Neither did Adam; instead, he opted for staring at the sky. It was as blue as inside the Garden, but somehow it was different. Something about it…but he couldn’t put his finger on it. Not when he felt so wonderfully comfortable, despite the hard rock. He found that he didn’t really want to dwell on it too long. While he was looking upwards, and Stephen had his eyes closed, neither of them noticed a woman and a large serpent enter the Garden through the still-open gate.