Title: Make Your Peace

Author: Ari

Warnings: Shounen ai, Character death, violence, swearing, M for language and violence.

Disclaimer: Fayt and co aren't mine.

Summary: Journeying together, Albel repeatedly lashes out at Fayt, trying to get the smaller man to unleash his power and allow him a challenge. In the mean time, Fayt is wasting away from mental anguish and repeated abuse from the one person he can't seem to leave behind.

Part 2 of 4

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//Bleeding now, I'm…

Crying out, I'm…

Falling down and I'm…

Feeling nothing like…

Laughing now, I'm…

Stopping now, I'm…

Reaching out and I'm…

Feeling nothing…//

XXXXXXXXXXX

Fayt was tired. He was weak, wrung out, and finished with everything. He'd been spending his recent days in a nice, fuzzy, grey place in his mind. The only thing that jolted him out of his little world, were certain, small moments around Albel.

Like when the man punched him in the face.

Or when he threw an arm around him in his sleep.

He'd been doing that a lot lately…sleeping, that is. Fayt hadn't ever seen Albel sleep so often or so calmly.

Fayt smirked a little. 'Speak of the devil himself…' he thought, just as the cold man walked in.

Albel threw something at him, and Fayt caught it instinctively. "Eat it."

"I don't want it." Fayt reply glumly, staring down at the Umai-Bo in its cute, colorful wrapper.

"Eat it or I'll make you eat two."

Fayt pulled off the wrapper and scowled at the retreating back of The Wicked One.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Their spar had started like every other one. The clashing of swords, Albel screaming and taunting him to use his powers, Fayt refusing and blocking as quick as he could to take less damage.

But somewhere, about half way through, all weapons were forgotten and Albel simply lunged at him, a closed fist slamming into Fayt's gut. The tiny blue-haired warrior had retaliated immediately; kicking the older man in the kneecap, bringing him down to the ground with him.

They spent the next half hour rolling around in the mud, punching and kicking, silently rejoicing when they manage to sneak in a cheap shot to the groin or a swift clap to the ears.

Fayt was currently being pinned down with a soft arm and being punched over and over again with a clawed one. Random bouts of 'Do it!' and 'Show me!' reaching his ears once in a while.

Fayt clenched his eyes shut and sank his teeth into Albel's wrist. The man inhaled sharply and let out a sharp hiss of what Fayt hoped was pain. That second of unbalance allowed Fayt to move, and his leg jerk upwards, catching The Wicked One right between the legs. Skirt or not, Albel was a man…

Albel grunted and rolled over, allowing Fayt enough time to get up and stomp down on his unguarded nose. The man hissed again, his eyes burning as he hooked a foot around Fayt's leg, yanking him back into the mud. His arm shot out, squeezing down on Fayt throat and cutting off the smaller mans airflow as he hunched over him. There was a gleeful, murderous, glint in his eyes even as blood ran steadily from his nose.

Fayt floundered for a moment, before catching hold of one of Albel's rat-tails and yanked down hard while lurching his body up, meeting their skulls together with the sharp crack.

That signaled the end of the 'spar' as both men let out a whoosh of breath and collapsed in the mud, Fayt on his back and Albel partially draped over him, hand still lightly clenched around his neck.

"That was…" Albel mumbled, not really knowing what to say.

"Different." Fayt supplied.

"Yes. Very."

A small beeping broke the silence and Fayt pulled out his communicator, shifting oddly to reach his pocket since Albel hadn't moved yet. The man was panting and having random bouts of quiet, hysterical, laughter. Fayt ignored him and answered.

"Yes?"

"Fayt!" Maria's shocked and worried face glared down at him, slightly blurred from fuzzy pixels. "What happened? You look like you were in a drunken brawl! Is that Albel?"

"Yeah, it's him. We were…sparring, I guess."

The Wicked One snorted and picked himself up to go and gather their discarded weapons.

"I wont ask, Fayt, I just called so see how you were. You haven't contacted us in two months."

"We're fine. We're actually in a village at the moment."

"Do you want us to pick you up for a while?"

Albel spun around and glared down at Fayt. "No. I don't want to see any of them at this time."

Fayt simply smiled. "Not yet Maria. I'll call back later."

"But Fayt-" He cut off the call before he heard anymore.

"Come on, fool." Albel reached out to help Fayt up from the mud. "We have wounds to heal."

"I want a bath too." Fayt grumbled.

"Yes, yes…I know…" Albel rolled his eyes. "Clean freak…" he mumbled quietly.

"Barbarian." Fayt hissed back.

XXXXXXXXXXX

The newest town they'd found was much larger than they'd been in before. It had a town center, a small clinic, several shops and eateries, and even a natural hot spring for bathing. That was Fayt's favorite part, a warm bath. Albel had snickered at him for that, calling him weak.

Albel and Fayt by passed the clinic, going right up to their room at the inn, both of them more comfortable healing their own wounds.

"We're out of Physical Enhancers again." Fayt grumbled. "And almost out of Mental Enhancers. We're going to have to meet up with Maria soon."

"Not until I have to. We still have plenty of Blueberries and Blackberries. Not to mention good old fashioned gauze."

Fayt didn't answer, he didn't care either way, he was too busy wondering if his ribs were broken again.

"I think you broke my nose, worm."

"It isn't broken, just bleeding."

Fayt tied off the last bandage and sat back to watch Albel finish up. The Wicked One was holding a rag to his face, his head tipped back to try and stop the bleeding. He'd discarded his shirt to try and keep it as clean as possible, and Fayt found himself staring at Albel's stomach. The man had a very lean torso. Cliff called him 'sister' and 'woman' all the time, but aside from the skirt, Fayt really couldn't find anything feminine about the tight muscles rippling underneath the warriors skin.

"You're starting at me, Fayt." Albel's cold voice broke through his thoughts, and the Wicked One scowled, raking a hand through his long hair. "I lost a hair wrap…"

"It looks better down." Fayt replied absently.

Albel raised an eyebrow but chose not to comment. "Help me tie this off." He gestured to the new white bandages around his arm.

Fayt had only seen the skin bare twice, but he felt extremely bad for the cold man for what he had seen. The skin was a horrid purple-red and blotchy from the burns. If Fayt didn't know better, he'd think it was rotting.

Albel watched in interest out of the corner of his eye as Fayt stared at him and mussed to himself. The Wicked One didn't know what the boy was mulling over, but the intense, blank stare directed at him was funny.

"Do you need any help?" he asked. Fayt shook his head and started crawling under the covers. "Fine. I'll be back later." And he left the inn, not even acknowledging Fayt's question of where he was going.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Albel went to the only place he could think of. It would keep anyone from wandering up to him, since most people don't climb on the rooftops in the middle of the night. The sloping roof was quite comfortable and perfect for silence musings.

It wasn't odd for Fayt to watch him; the boy did it a lot actually. The difference lay in when Fayt watched him. The boy used to watch him train or work out, and sometimes when he created something. He was a sponge for new battle knowledge.

Fayt still watch him during those times, but he also watched him clean his wounds or cook. He watched him dress or wrap his hair, and he watched him mend his clothes. It seemed that all Fayt did was watch him recently, and Albel wondered why he didn't care.

But if Fayt had time to stare at him, he had time to eat and train and show Albel his power.

He growled to himself. He still didn't understand why Fayt never used it. If the kid was worried about hurting him, he shouldn't be, Albel hurt Fayt all the time! If the kid weren't so cute, he'd really have killed him long before then!

"Urgh…" Fayt wasn't cute. People weren't cute. People were hideous and disgusting, the only thing good about people was the blood they spilled. Sexual…. acts…were pointless. You gained absolutely no strength or power from them.

Not that Albel hadn't done….it…before. He cringed at the memory. He'd been a thirteen-year-old boy, curious and hormonal, it had been physically nice on a simple humane level, but that was it. There hadn't been anything satisfying about that frail, soft, simpering girl. Good thing she was dead.

"Disgusting." Albel murmured, staring at the dark sky.

But Albel admitted that Fayt was nicer to look at than that girl had been. If he'd eat more, he'd actually look, dare he say attractive? Plus he wasn't a girl, which meant he didn't cry, whine, or get emotional about nothing, like Sophia. Yes, Fayt was nice to look at, but he wasn't cute. Nope, not at all. Right, and Albel was a woman.

Albel grinned. "He has that power…now if only he'd get over hurting me. That fool…" Albel sat up and stretched, then jumped down from the roof, heading back up to the inn.

The desk clerk wasn't at the front and Albel was glad he could just go straight upstairs. He stripped off his katana and began unclipping his claw as he entered their room.

It was dark as he entered and dropped his gear, making his was over to the two beds. The shadowy figure of Fayt in his bed made Albel halt. The boy was in his own bed, not in Albel's; he hadn't slept alone for months. The Wicked One considered getting in with him, and then scoffed. He was a grown man, he allowed the boy to sleep with him because Fayt needed it, not the other way around. And with that, Albel settled into this bed.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Albel opened his eyes again with a growl, the sickening screams of his Father fading away again for the third time that night. With a hiss he pushed back the blanket and got into bed with Fayt. The boy, even in sleep, rolled over and flung an arm across his stomach.

The Wicked One sighed. He was getting soft, and sleep was becoming addicting.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Every time they sparred, it got harder and harder for Fayt to hold back the power of Destruction. His body, his very cells, screamed out to protect him, and each time Fayt had to fight them back.

As he lay on his back, dazed and beaten once again, he vowed to find a way to make Albel give up the urge to witness his power. The worst thing in the world for Fayt would be to use that power on the other man. He refused to do it.

He groaned and rolled over, eyes scanning the field for The Wicked One, but he was gone. Albel always left him to flounder in his own blood, the exception being if he was in actual mortal peril. Dead people couldn't fight, and Fayt had come to accept that that was all he'd ever be: a weapon for Albel to fight and over come.

Fayt sat up with a sigh and began assessing injuries. They weren't actually that bad this day, a broken finger, a couple cuts and a lot of bruises. His head was kinda funny feeling and he was bleeding too, but he couldn't see from where.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Albel sat in silence, stirring a pot of curry every once in a while and stitching up a tear in his shirt at the same time. He was hoping Fayt would get back soon so he could force the kid to eat, but he refused to go and get him himself. He'd wait an hour.

The curry had been done and eaten long ago; his shirt was stitched along with some patches in his skirt, and Fayt still hadn't come back. Albel frowned, maybe Fayt was mad and avoiding him. Well fine! The boy could be childish if he wanted to!

Albel decided he'd wait until nightfall.

Nightfall came and passed into actual night. Albel sat staring angrily at the fire, trying to think if he'd hurt the boy more than he'd thought. Even the blow to his head should have been fine. Albel had hit Fayt many, many, times before, and it had never been a problem.

'He's probably just angry.' Albel decided. 'The idiot will come back eventually.' With that, Albel settled down comfortably against a tree to wait.

He made it another twenty minutes before getting up and going to search.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Fayt was really dizzy.

He decided that lying right where he was until Albel came to find him would be a good idea. He could feel his brain hovering just above unconsciousness, but couldn't figure out what was wrong with his body. He knew he was bleeding, he could smell the copper and he was tired, he just didn't know from where.

'I'll just…close my eyes for a moment…'

"Hey fool! What the hell are you doing?"

Albel's voice forced his eyes open and he frowned. "Go away…I'm tired."

"Hey Fayt, your brains leaking out."

Well that was nice. That must be were the blood was coming from.

"Why didn't you heal yourself?"

Fayt smiled weakly and watched as Albel kneeled down next to him, pulling out some gauze and muttering a healing spell.

"Knew…you'd…find me." And then he fell asleep.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Apparently, he'd hit Fayt in the head harder than he'd thought. Hard enough to crack his skull apparently. The idiot hadn't even tried to heal himself, he'd just laid in the field waiting to slowly bleed to death. The crack was small enough that he should have been able to heal it.

Albel didn't think Fayt was suicidal, but this was odd, you don't just ignore the fact that you're bleeding. Maybe Albel had jarred his brain…

The Wicked One sat back and huffed. He'd healed the kid up and Fayt was now happily sleeping. Albel simply refused to admit how worried he'd been, and he certainly didn't feel bad.

He glanced back at the sleeping figure and growled, rolling his eyes and turned his back to the boy. Looking at him was difficult, what exactly had the moron meant, 'Knew you'd find me?' What the hell was that? That stupid statement was making him feel bad.

XXXXXXXXXXX

"You need to come pick us up."

"Albel? How strange… Anyway, what happened? What's wrong?"

"Fayt cracked his head in a spar. I healed it, but he fell unconscious two days ago. He should have woken up by now."

"Alright, we'll be there as soon as possible."

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Albel pushed open the door to the medical room. It was late. Or early, depending on how you looked at it. Fayt was sitting up in the bed, the IV dripping onto the floor next to him.

Fayt's voice was soft in the dark. "I hate needles." As if that explained everything.

Albel leaned again the edge of the bed, arms crossed and eyes closed. He wanted to say something, but he wasn't really sure how to, and he stumbled over the words. Eventually The Wicked One decided to be direct and too the point.

"I'm sorry."

Fayt shook his head, a sad smile gracing his lips. "It was an accident, it wasn't your-"

"No. I should have realized." He turned to stare directly at the boy. "As much as I've injured you in the past, I have never left you if you were too injured to heal yourself. I should have paid more attention. I'm sorry."

Fayt stared at him in surprise, his green eyes wide from shock. Albel didn't normally apologize. Finally he smiled and spread his arms. "You look sad, Albel! Do you need a hug?"

Even though it was said in jest, Albel glanced over at the boy, eyebrow raised and gaze studying the younger man. "No, I don't." He glanced away with a grim and slightly unhappy frown. "But do you?"

Fayt started again in surprise, arms falling slightly and wide grin gone completely. Finally, he sighed, his eyes downcast and in barely a whisper said, "…yes…"

Albel spun around and Fayt thought the man would hit him, but instead, The Wicked One grabbed the boy's skinny arm and yanked him forward, sweeping the boy into his arms and holding him close. "I'm sorry, Fayt." He whispered again.

Fayt leaned into the older man, arms circling his neck. Albel glanced down; the boy was clinging to him, his fingers twisting in his loose hair, and he frowned; this wasn't as bad as Albel thought it would be. The Wicked One closed red eyes and slowly tightened his hold around the skinny waist, resting his chin on blue locks.

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A matter of months had turned into this. A few months turned hard attempts at killing him into a shrinking number, and evenings spent cleaning cuts and bones in front of a fire, turned into long nights spent in warm cuddling. It really wasn't much of a change, Albel just seemed to go a little easier on the boy during spars and his yells and demands seemed a little less demanding. At night, Albel was more likely to throw an arm around Fayt and pull him closer than he had before.

Fayt dropped onto the bedroll next to a resting Albel, who cracked open his eyes and pulled the tiny boy to his side as too thin fingers curled in his hair.

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Blood dripped down his arm, spotting the frosty ground. Fayt pressed a hand to the cut, but it didn't do anything, the hot liquid just flowed out between his fingers. Albel stood over him, Katana pointed directly at his head.

"I'm tired of waiting, Fayt. Show me or I'll kill you."

Fayt winced away and shook his head. "No."

Albel frowned, a tiny growl escaping his lips. "Why? I don't understand. I hurt you all the time."

It was the same argument as always.

Fayt huddled on the ground, hand pressed to his shoulder, legs crossed, and a determined glare on his face.

"I will never show you, Albel."

Normally Albel would strike out again, inflicting another wound of some sort; instead he turned and stalked away.

That night, after Fayt had wrapped and bandaged his shoulder and Albel had eaten, he curled up to The Wicked One like normal, silently telling Albel that he wasn't angry about the injury, and Albel, still a little leery about even the slightest intimacy of any kind, hesitantly pull Fayt into an embrace.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Albel leaned against the wall of a building, a bar of frozen juice on a stick in his mouth. They were in another village, and Fayt had convinced him to stay more than a day or two. He was getting much too soft. The Wicked One settled red eyes on the unhealthy figure of Fayt running half-heartedly from some of the village children that had roped him into a game of tag.

"Come play too, Albel." Fayt called.

"You wish, maggot."

"Please?" the boy begged.

"Over my dead body."

"Fine." The boy huffed just before he was tackled to the ground by giggling children.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Fayt knelt behind The Wicked One, running a comb through the man's long hair. Albel sat silently, absently munching on some Steamed Buns and reading a book on ancient Aquarian weapons. 'Know your enemy' was his favorite policy.

"All done." Fayt rocked back to sit down, tossing the comb off to the side.

Albel frowned and ran a hand down the back of his neck. "You braided it?"

"It'll get less tangled when you sleep."

"I am not a woman, Fayt."

"You say that, yet you have long hair and wear a skirt." The boy rolled his eyes. "I know you're not a woman Albel." He gave the man a pointed stare, and Albel huffed, mumbling about snotty brats.

Fayt grinned and peered over the man's shoulder, only to have a Steamed Bun shoved in his face. He shook his head and declined, but Albel ignored him and pushed it up against Fayt's pale lips.

"I don't want it."

Albel rolled his eyes and gave up.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Albel blinked as Fayt stirred next to him, and the man brushed away blue bangs from the boys face, waking him up. Fayt mumbled sleepily and pressed his face into Albel's neck, his legs wrapping around the other mans, and gave a small, hesitant smile. Albel didn't return it, but slowly pulled the pale boy closer, pressing his face into blue hair.

Fayt smiled fully to himself. For the first time, Albel was being more than grudgingly nice; he was being slightly affectionate.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Fayt sat in the galley of the Diplo, Sophia sitting sullenly next to him, watching him out of the corner of her eye.

"Stop glaring at me like that." Fayt grumbled, taking a sip of his water.

"…Well?" she asked softly, drumming her fingers around her cup.

"I'm fine with it. It doesn't bother me, I just like being with him." A flush spread across pale cheeks and he stared down at the table.

"Yeah, but…what about me? About all of us?" her voice was soft and hesitant. "Everyone one likes being around you. Everyone misses you."

"Closed places makes Albel uncomfortable."

Sophia slammed her hands down on the counter. "Who cares how he feels? He obviously doesn't care about how you feel. He beats you up all the time!" tears were welling in her eyes.

"He does care…"

"I don't believe that, and even so, it's still not right!" she was crying now, and Fayt sighed in irritation.

"Sophia, don't tell me what to do. I can take care of myself. He hasn't killed me yet, I'm still alive aren't I?" he demanded.

"Barely…" she mumbled and stalked out.

XXXXXXXXXXX

"Fayt, that's stupid. There is no such thing as a God."

"Why do you say that? Wasn't Luther a God? At least for us?" Fayt stretched a little and rolled over to face Albel.

"No. We killed him."

"Why don't you believe in Gods?"

Albel sat silent for a moment. "Well, I've never seen a miracle. All I've seen are battles and lots of dead bodies."

"But Albel, a lot of those dead bodies are because of you…"

"Your point?"

"I dunno…"

XXXXXXXXXXX

//You are a time bomb

Ticking away

You need to release

What you're feeling inside

Let out the beast

That you're trying to hide

Take a look around

You can't deny what you see

We're living in a violent society//

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So… was a slightly fluffier chapter, but that's okay, a little bit of fluff never hurt to make the anguish even better. Besides, Albel and Fayt's growing relationship is a little different than the norm…it wont really be very sexual, it'll be more intimate…they will probably kiss.

Anyways, I'm really enjoying this story. I think I might be very sad when it ends. Writers block only happens for about a day, and then I get some new inspiration and start typing like crazy again. So Part 3 shall be out just as quickly.

The song at the beginning is 'Numb' by Disturbed, and it's for Fayt. The ending one is 'Violence Fetish' by Disturbed again and it's for Albel.

Disturbed seems to fit this story very well… Violence Fetish, and that verse in particular, struck me as working wonderfully for having Albel talk about Fayt's power. (nod nod) Any song in this story I recommend download/listening to. These are some of my favorites.

Please leave me a review. I would really like to know what you all think of this story. Especially since I'm getting so attached to it. You're words make me so happy, and it feels great to know people are enjoying my writing.