Disclaimer: I do not own Star Ocean: Till The End Of Time or its characters whatsoever.
Summary: Mackwell meets Sophia. And for once in his life, he is totally strayed from his schedule as this girl teaches him the meaning of having fun. And Sophia is intrigued when she meets Mackwell, a man to rival Albel's coldness and looks as well!
Author Note: In this story, Sophia's personality is different, but she's extremely sweet down to the core, but she can be mysterious, very calm but an intriguing girl. I will try not to change her so much but hey, little miss Sophia needs a boost is what I think. Oh and yes, Mackwell WILL be in character.
This is a simple romantic story. If you are looking for a complex and in depth fanfiction, this is not for you. This is supposed to be a feel good story that'll make you smile at simple adoration.
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CRASH! And then there followed an immense amount of books in almost every subject imaginable and available crashing into the royal red carpeted floor.
A flash of stockings.
A smile.
Brown hair.
Mackwell groaned and threw a book off of his face and opened his eyes and blinked furiously, staring up at the Royal Aquaria Castle ceiling. Time is of the essence! His vision was met with a blur of a pair of legs sporting dark stockings with cats imprinted on them…cats. Hmm. Mackwell shook his head and slowly stared up.
The girl wearing these stockings was sitting on the table on which Mackwell dropped all his books next to, swinging her legs back and forth. Her lips were curved in a smile that seemed to have been glued there. Maybe.
Cats.
Research.
She got off the table and bent halfway down, studying him with smiling eyes, her hands on her curvy hips.
Work.
Work.
Research.
Time.
"Hey handsome mister…what are you doing?"
Time!
Mackwell was snapped out of his thoughts, "I'm researching. Work..I..I need to work." Mackwell tried scrambling to his feet when the girl jumped on him and sat on his torso. "OOFPH!" Mackwell let out.
"That, hurt. Get, off, me! Bah!"
"Whats your name, pretty looking mister?" she grinned, her eyes sparkling.
Oh Apris, Mackwell thought.
Mackwell's patience was getting thin, "I'm not employed by the castle. An old friend lets me in. So save your questions for somebody else. I've no obligation to show you around either if thats what you've sought to ask afterwards. I'm not interested in you little girls or women."
"You're homosexual then?" she giggled.
Did that catch him off guard or what? "WHAT WH-"
Ignoring his words, the girl fumbled with her skirt and smiled, "You look like an alchemist to me. The way you dress.. hee hee. Now, are you?"
He grumbled, he was late, LATE, BEHIND ON HIS SCHEDULE. "What do you want? I am late!"
Charming was the definition of her smile, "Now, now, its not cute to answer a question with a question!"
Mackwell gave in, "My name is Mackwell, and indeed, I am an alchemist. I'd rather not waste time. I'm twenty-minutes late off my other task!" Mackwell tried scurrying to his feet and getting off the floor when he realized the girl was still on top of his torso smiling down at him, "Uhh..lady, get off me." he said between clenched teeth.
Now, any woman or girl being this close to him would think he had a stylish and handsome hair cut. His bangs framed his face nicely. Beautiful eyes and thin lips and impregnable coldness. But she had other plans in mind other than staring at him.
As soon as he thought he was getting off the floor, the girl smiled and pushed him down gently, "My name is Sophia and no, I will not get off until you tell me what is your next task. Come on now pretty boy."
He groaned, "Excuse me but how old are you to call me that young lady? Bah...This is going nowhere. You're just wasting my time. I don't like questions."
Sophia eagerly smiled, "Then why are you asking a question? Hee hee."
Mackwell totally had no choice, his cheeks slightly tinted with red as he mumbled, "...Follow me if you will.." Mackwell diverted his eyes away from Sophia's gaze in embarrassment.
Sophia thought it was really cute.
Mackwell stared at her cat-imprinted stockings…"Hmph, I am not obliged to be so hospitable."
For the first time in his life, he wasn't concentrating on of either three things: work, time, and chasing away the women that stalked him so.
Sophia grinned, 'Never thought I'd meet a man as handsome or a coldness that rivaled Albel's. Hee he hee.'
Sophia quickly got off of him and tangled her tiny fingers in his rough piano fingers, "Lets go!"
And off they went as Mackwell felt a bit awkward holding hands with this…eh..young girl.
As they left the castle doors, Sophia smiled as the sunlight caught in her eyes, "Ohhh, its so bright outside! See how such a beautiful day it is? You shouldn't stay so engrossed in your studies so much Mr. Mackwell!"
Indeed it was a fine day.
Maybe it was her smile that made him realize it.
What?
Oh Apris. He was completely straying from his precious studies.
He had to snap out of this, "H-hey..lets go already…and call me Mackwell." Mackwell held on to Sophia's shoulders and moved her toward the alley next to a well-sized house.
Reaching for his earring, he took it off and placed it into the door lock to this homely house. Mackwell was a clever man, using his earrings as a way to get into his house. This way, no one can try to pick his front door lock or try to break in. His windows were made of a special glass, pretty much shatter free. Alas, if he ever lost those earrings, he'd be screwed.
The door made a long and loud creeeeeeeeaaaak as it opened, Mackwell ignored it as it was a regular thing. No one but his cats and himself had been in his house before, it felt a bit strange since he was usually aloof.
No more of the subject. He was forced!
"Well. This is it." Mackwell walked calmly into the house, the floor was made out of a solid marble of patterns of diamonds of red and gold. The walls thick and smooth with a faded on purpose, warm gold color. The ceiling was painted with a dark purple with specks of gold on them. He had numerous paintings and lots of royal red colored sofas and chairs, in fact, the whole placed was littered with them in a fashionably kind of way if that were imaginable.
His fireplace was always lit, he had formulated an item to keep them burning, even with only ash. His house was cold regardless of the weather outside. He preferred the coldness. Mackwell's house smelled like a mix of cinnamon, chocolate and mysterious herbs and various potions. But still, it was very warm in feeling despite the temperature.
Mackwell remained silent as he leisurely walked over to his wooden sink and elaborately decorated countertops. He reached out for the cupboard that held most of his cups and mugs. He picked out two vanilla-tan colored mugs, each with a small, drawn kitty on it. Mackwell slightly chuckled.
"Tea? Coffee or milk? Hurry and choose before I change my mind"
Sophia grinned, "Milk please."
After Mackwell poured her milk and himself, black coffee, Mackwell realized, "This won't do. Seems I've fallen a bit behind, again."
Sophia, "Your kittens?", she giggled.
Mackwell slightly blushed but kept a blank face.
"Awww, there your kitties are!" Sophia's eyes light up as a tan and another cat, colored dark purple pawed itself slowly towards her, swirling their tails around her cheek as she knelt down to pet them.
Another cat, a golden one spotted with black caught her off guard, and jumped on top of her, "Oof!"
Mackwell hid his face behind his hand, quietly laughing.
Sophia noticed his actions and got off the floor, picking up the cat that pounced on her and grinned.
"Its okay to laugh, you know! You never really do laugh a lot, do you?"
Mackwell looked at her in uneasy awe, "If you say so."
And then he took a seat on one of his over sized couch near the fireplace. Sophia followed and sat on a cushioned chair across him.
Sophia yawned as she quietly walked over to Mackwell like a sleepy child holding their stuffed animal(or in this case, a kitty). "Do you mind if I stay here? Well. Only for the night. Please? My group has gone on another mission and suggested that I stay here in Aquaria while they ditch me… And I don't like staying in inns…I don't feel safe."
Puppy eyes always work one hundred and two percent foolproof.
Did I mention they work on certain cold and inhospitable suckers like Mackwell?
Mackwell sat silently but Sophia took it as a yes either way whether he was going to let her or not, the straight-forward girl. Fascinatingly enough, Sophia crawled in between the space of Mackwell's legs and leaned in close to Mackwell's face, so close, their noses nearly brushed against each other, "Thanks handsome. You know. I've been, watching you work for a while. I knew your name. My group hired you some time ago. You're a very talented alchemist and scholar. Slave to knowledge, so engrossed in alchemical research. And beautiful."
She grinned.
I.
Can't.
I.
Paralyzed.
The only sound in the whole house was a mew every now and then and the flicker of the fire, eating away at the wood almost like it wanted to burn out but to no avail for the fire would never die.
But not everyone shared this warmness that filled the room even more. Outside the window, there was someone watching. A certain man with a sword named the Crimson Scourge and a metal claw clenched in silent rage.
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Yes. Yes. Many people make Mackwell a gentlemen (which I sometimes pretend its true…but…) well, simply, in fact, Mackwell is almost as cold as Albel.
AND PLEASE PLEASE. PLEASE. If you have any recommendations or scenes or ideas to add to the story, please tell! I'll probably put it somewhere in the story.