Night Revelation
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The night was still but comforting. The evening air was fresh and warm, which spared the party from renting an expensive hotel room. They were all short on fol and everyone unanimously agreed that it would be best to spend it on weapons and armors for their future arduous travels. Fayt closed his eyes and attempted to fall asleep again, but the distractions around him were too great. He could hear Albel's light snores and Mirage and Cliff chatting quietly with each other. Besides, the stars were shining so actively and brightly that Fayt couldn't help but watch the heavens as he wondered if his parents were all right. He missed his home even though he was having fun on the journey with his new friends. Watching the sky made him feel closer to home, and he smiled knowing that if he were at home right now, he would be watching the same sky.
He tried to keep as still as possible in an effort to not wake his tired friend beside him. He stole a quick glance at Sophia and found that she was sleeping peacefully with a small smile curved upon her pink lips. He slid over a bit to give her head extra support so it wouldn't slip off his shoulder. He felt a small nudge against his shoulder and made sure to keep still again so he wouldn't wake her from her peaceful slumber. Fayt noted that she was extremely tired from trying her hardest to fight alongside everyone. She was never trained to fight and the long journey must have exhausted her. He quickly thanked the heavens silently for keeping her safe. They had been childhood friends and he didn't know what he would have done if something had happened to Sophia.
Just as Fayt was about to rest his head back against an oak tree to watch the sky again, he caught a quick moving shadow from the corner of his eyes. His eyes followed the dark silhouette to a nearby lake where the figure stopped in her tracks, her long hair billowing in the soft wind. "Maria?"
He continued to watch Maria standing by herself as she glanced past the calm water. Fayt could sense that the woman before him was feeling lonely as she stood by herself even though she could have had any company she wanted. He watched her bow her head as her fingers gently brushed against the trigger of her gun strapped safely in her belt holster. When she didn't move from her spot, Fayt decided to approach her just to make sure everything was all right. He carefully pushed Sophia's weight off his shoulder and transferred it against the sturdy oak tree. Being cautious to not make any loud noises, he slowly and quietly moved through the long blades of grass and closed in on the distance between himself and Maria.
"Can't sleep?" he started as he inhaled deeply, watching the riveting view of the glistening water in front of him.
"No, not really," Maria replied quietly. She didn't appear surprised that Fayt had just appeared beside her. In fact, she had detected his presence and movement as soon as he had left the oak tree.
"What are you doing?" Fayt asked, attempting to create a conversation even though Maria wasn't making it easy for him.
"Not much. Just watching the water and thinking about our journey…there's just so much fighting." Her voice was filled with disappointment and sadness even though she tried hard not to betray her true emotions on her face. She always tried to keep up a stoic front to make things easier for herself and for everyone else. If she showed weakness, her teammates would feel weak. She was a leader, not a follower, and therefore had to carry out certain responsibilities a leader had.
"Yeah, I know what you mean. I wish there was another way…" Fayt whispered softly. "But if it has to be done, then it has to be done."
"Yes, you're right about that," Maria chuckled dryly. She kept her gaze forward as she spoke to the man beside her. "Shouldn't you be getting some rest? We have a long journey ahead of us tomorrow."
Fayt shook his head. His blue locks spilled over his eyes but instead of removing them out of the way, he waited until a warm breeze carried them back to its original position. "I can't sleep."
"Oh really? Your friend Sophia there seems to be sleeping pretty well," Maria commented without turning around.
Fayt was about to ask her how she knew without even glancing at Sophia, but decided that it wasn't important. Maria was a very keen lady and was always alert about everything around her. Instead, he simply nodded and said, "She's very tired from all the fighting. We've all had fighting experiences, but Sophia had never fought before. This is her first time on the battlefield."
"I see. Maybe you should go keep her company?" Maria suggested curtly.
Fayt raised a brow, feeling slightly taken back by her words. Was she trying to get rid of him? Did she want to be alone? "Umm…sorry. Do you need some space?" Fayt asked slowly.
Maria suddenly realized she had come off a bit rude with her words. "Ugh, I apologize, Fayt. I didn't mean it like that. It's just that I'm sure she wants you there beside her." For the first time during their conversation, she turned to face him. Her brilliant blue eyes grew wide from regretting the previous tone she took with her friend.
Fayt shook his head, a gesture that revealed he accepted her apology. "Oh, well she's just sleeping. I don't have to be there when she's resting."
"I see. But you two are so close and I'm sure you care about her very much."
"Maria, we are very close and I do care about her a lot, but you're making it sound as if she's going to disappear if I'm not there by her side every waking moment." Fayt let out a faint laugh and turned to glance at Sophia. She was still resting peacefully using the oak tree for support.
"Don't you care about her beyond the level of a friend?" Maria couldn't stop the words from rolling out of her mouth. She forced herself to stay calm and it took every muscle in her arms to lock them in place by her side. By reflex, she wanted to cover her mouth after letting that question escape, but that would look too suspicious to Fayt.
"I…I don't know what you mean." Fayt frowned. Sophia was one of his best friends and he cared a great deal about her, but he never thought about her in a way beyond friends. "Are you trying to ask if she's-"
"I'm sorry," Maria interrupted quickly. "That's your personal issue and I shouldn't interfere." She could feel her cheeks getting warm and prayed that it wasn't revealed beneath the pale moonlight above them. Just to make sure that her face was well concealed, she turned away from him.
"Oh, no. It's quite ok. If you're trying to ask if Sophia and I are more than friends, the answer is no," Fayt replied calmly as he stared at her back. Another gust of wind blew past them, and as it parted Maria's white trench coat, Fayt caught a glimpse of a deep cut imbedded on the side of her thigh. "Maria! You're leg-"
Startled, Maria immediately hugged her trench coat closer to herself to hide her apparent wound. "It's nothing. Don't worry about it," she replied hastily.
"But you're hurt!" Fayt exclaimed incredulously. "Why didn't you say something? Why didn't you ask Sophia to heal you!?"
"I said I'll be okay. I don't want to bother Sophia," Maria replied hastily before turning to walk away. However, whatever effects of the medication she had used on her wound earlier was starting to fade and a rush of blinding white pain came surging back to her leg. She gritted her teeth to hide the pain and forced her leg to move even though it was hurting her with every attempt to just simply lift it. "Ugh!" Maria groaned as she lost her balance and tumbled forward.
"Maria!" Luckily, Fayt had always been a fast responder. He rushed in front of her and caught her limp body in his arms before she could fall to the ground. "Here, hold on to my shoulders."
Maria nodded and weakly trailed her hands toward his shoulders. Fayt could feel her fingers clenching his shoulders tightly and understood that she was in a great deal of pain. "Hold on to me," he instructed as he scooped her off her feet and carried her back to the post where all the medical supplies were. Maria tightened her arms around Fayt's neck as she winced in pain from the burning sensation in her leg. She didn't trying to hide the pain. Fayt would have been able to see right through her facade anyway.
"We're running low on medical supplies," Maria observed as Fayt rummaged through the supply bag for anything that could be used to treat the wound.
"Damn," Fayt cursed when he saw that there wasn't anything of much use in the bag. "Hold on, I'll go wake up Sophia so she can heal you."
"No, it's fine. She's sleeping," Maria grunted as she tried to catch her breath. Digging into her pocket, she pulled out a small roll of gauze and a vial of white liquid. "H-here."
Fayt quickly snatched the items out of her hand and began to expertly dress the wound. He poured the liquid onto the wound first before securing it with multiple sheets of gauze. With one fluid motion, he cleanly tore off a strip of fabric from his shirt and used it to tie around the gauze. "This makeshift bandage would just have to do for now until we head out tomorrow. The first thing we're going to do is buy medicine for that wound," Fayt said. His voice was filled with concern and worry as he stared at her injury. "Does it hurt now?"
It took Maria a few moments to snap out of her trance. She felt her heart racing against her chest when Fayt was treating her injury. She had never seen someone so concerned about her, and the sensation made her feel warm and touched inside. "N-no. I'm fine. Thank you, Fayt." She bowed her head respectfully as a way of thanking him.
"Don't scare me like that, Maria. If you don't get your injury treated, it can turn get much worse. I should go get Sophia right now," Fayt said as he turned around.
Maria shook her head and grabbed Fayt's wrist, urging him not to go. "That can wait until later, Fayt. Besides, I'm not in any pain right now thanks to you." She watched him shift his eyes back and forth between herself and Sophia. When he finally sighed heavily and sat down beside her, Maria released her grip on him and reassured him again, "I'm fine."
Fayt sighed in defeat and smiled faintly. "All right, you win. How did you get that wound anyway?"
"When we were fighting earlier…" Maria whispered, ashamed that she was injured so easily. She cursed herself for not being more alert on the battlefield.
Fayt's eyes widened. "Why didn't you say anything? I was right next to you!"
"I didn't want to distract you. I thought I could have taken them all on with my gun, but I guess I was wrong…" She touched the trigger of her gun for the second time that night. Running her fingernails over the smooth surface of her weapon, she closed her eyes and tried to block out her humiliating defeat.
"H-Hey! There's nothing wrong with calling for help," Fayt spoke so gently that he barely heard his own words rolling off his lips. He reached out and touched Maria's chin gently. His fingers guided her chin upwards so she could face him. "If you need help, I'll be here for you next time. Okay? I-…I care about you and I don't want to see you get hurt."
H-he cares…? "I-I…okay…" Maria finally whispered. Her heart felt like it was going to bounce off her chest when she found Fayt starting at her intently with his steel blue eyes that bore concern and compassion. "I'll be here for you too…" She gave him a full smile and in return, she received one that was equally enthusiastic.
A moment of silence passed before Fayt observed that Maria's eyes were slowly starting to close. "You're getting sleepy…" he noted.
"A little," Maria admitted.
"Get some sleep." He ushered her to lie down after slipping the carrier bag beneath her head. Brushing back a few loose strands from her eyes, Fayt gingerly brushed his hand against her forehead.
"You should go back to Sophia…" Maria whispered as she closed her eyes.
"She'll be fine. I'll stay right here with you until morning," he whispered softly into her ears.
Maria gave a silent nod before her body was taken over by sleep. Maybe…maybe he does care about me after all.
-Fin
A/N: I played Star Ocean a long time ago so forgive me for not having a plot here. I really can't remember all the events in Star Ocean 3! Sorry! However, I've always been a fan of Fayt and Maria so I wanted to write a short one-shot based on them. I'm a fan of Fayt and Sophia too, but I eventually came to love Fayt and Maria more. I think Sophia is more suitable for Albel besides Nel. Maybe I'll work on a fic for them one day. Please leave a review and thank you for reading!