Chapter 2- Thanks for the Memories
Okay, italics first person PoV. I think that's everything.
Chapter2: Thanks for the memories
Fayt Leingod stirred, opening his eyes. Sunlight streamed in the room he was currently sharing with his constant companion Albel Nox. He had made a sport of trying to spy on his foul-tempered friend while in this state, with his eyes barely cracked open. This morning, he could see Albel scribbling furiously with the ball-point pen he had given him as a gift into a paper-back sized leather bound book. Fayt had caught him at this more than once, and he was quite sure that he was writing some kind of diary. Whenever the blue-haired teen thought of this, he made sure he called it a diary-with loads of emphasis- just out of spite.
The older man looked like he was driven by some demon he wrote so furiously, the tome propped open on his knees. He was hunched over it, pausing only occasionally to stare off at the wall and begin writing again. Fayt smiled in his "sleep" as he noted the intense look on the man's face- the same look he got in the heat of battle when things were really serious- life or death. Suddenly, as though Albel the Wicked had some inner radar that sensed happiness and longed to put an end to such nonsense, his head snapped to the right and stared directly into Fayt's hooded eyes. The effeminate man snapped his "diary" shut just as quickly, stashing it under his pillow. A frown tugged at the edges of his more common smirk, and he raised his gracefully groomed eyebrows at the "sleeping" teen.
"Give it up already, fool." He shot, his vaguely amused smirk returning instantly at his own slyness.
Fayt wrinkled up his face in a disappointed pout for a few seconds then blew out a long breath. "You suck. How do you always know?"
"Because I am a soldier, trained to know and KILL when people are watching me and shouldn't be." Albel spat over his now re-opened book, finishing whatever he had been doing.
"When are you gonna show me what you keep writing in there? The suspense is killing me." Fayt smirked with a hint of sarcasm as he sat up and stretched languidly.
"I'd show you, but then I'd have to kill you. And I think those other worms would have a problem with that."
"What, and you wouldn't miss me or anything?" Albel didn't respond and Fayt just assumed that he had somehow unknowingly stumbled into dangerous territory. And Fayt had learned that if one wanted one's head to remain attatched to their shoulders, you should never tread in such places with Albel Nox. Abandoning his previous pursuit, the embodiment of Destruction stood up and strode over to the chair where he had tossed his clothes the night before. As he hopped on one foot, sliding his pants over his boxers, he felt the burn of eyes on his body. The teenager turned fast, as if to catch Albel watching him, but he saw only the slightest hint of movement as his eyes finished dropping back to his book. Frowning at yet another failed attempt to get one up on The Wicked one, he finished getting dressed, but left the armor that usually covered his legs in its heap. Now that things were settled down a bit, he only wore it when they were traveling or sparring.
Deciding to take one more shot at his friend, he sauntered in the direction of the door to act as though he were leaving, but at the last minute, he took a flying leap onto Albel's bed, deftly snatching the man's diary out of his hands. So shocked was Albel the Wicked at his friend's audacity, that it took slightly more than a split second for the captain to capture the retreating boy's hip and flip him backwards onto the bed, dropping a heavy elbow right into his stomach.
Fayt curled up in a ball, laughing hysterically and choking at the same time as Albel snatched the slightly ruffled object back from him, stashing it safely somewhere that the bluenette didn't see. Albel rolled his eyes and gave Fayt a hard kick, sending him sprawling onto the floor. The boy continued laughing as he sat back up and splayed his hands on Albel's bed. He rested his chin on his outspread fingers and looked up at the dark haired man above him, who merely stared down disdainfully at his companion.
"Must you do everything in your power to be as annoying as possible?" He drawled, leaning back against his headboard. "Now I can't write, so I'm even more bored than usual in this wretched city." He complained half-heartedly, as though to make Fayt feel bad. He watched the boy from the corner of his eye.
The blue-haired teen was just about to say something else when the door to their room burst open and Cliff dashed in looking concerned. His blue orbs darted from Fayt to Albel and back to Fayt again.
"What was that noise? Are you alright Fayt?" He demanded, crossing his arms and looking suspiciously at Albel.
"Yeah. We were just goofing off. Sorry bout that." He smiled at his other friend and scratched his head a little sheepishly.
"Albel the Wicked goofs off? Wait until everybody hears that one!" He chuckled, turning and closing the door.
The Wicked one scowled at Fayt as if to say "Now look at what you've done!" and stood up deftly to start getting dressed himself.
The bluenette didn't move much, but turned around so his back was resting against Albel's bed. His expression was troubled, but Albel didn't notice as he was tying the string that held up his belt and skirt.
Fayt sighed and rolled his head to the side so he could see his friend. "Hey, Albel… What are you planning to do now? I know that nobody's rushing to go anywhere. But I was thinking that I'd-"
"I think that I'll follow you around for a while. Find new ways to make your life miserable." Albel interrupted, not giving Fayt a chance to voice his own plans. It was more of a command than anything.
Fayt's mouth was hanging open, having been stopped in mid sentence and then shocked by the response he got. The boy had really suspected it to be a long, and probably painful, battle to talk Albel into going anywhere with him. Taking that response as his first victory against The Wicked one of the day, Fayt felt like his luck just might be looking up for a change.
"Well, sure I'd be fine with that. But we'll have to talk about the making my life miserable part." Fayt laughed, getting to his feet.
"We're going to go spar." Albel informed his companion. He rarely bothered to ask Fayt for anything. Giving orders was definitely more in his nature than asking nicely.
"Again? You're going to end up killing me."
"Only if you let me. And you say that like there's something more entertaining to do these days." He grumbled, jabbing a finger at Fayt's neglected armor.
The Bluenette grumbled and dropped into the chair, getting to work strapping all of the pieces on. "You could do all kinds of things. Why don't we go invent stuff instead? That's fun too."
"Sure. If you survive this match."
Defeated, Fayt finished with his armor and stood, strapping his sword to the small of his back. "Alright, you happy now?"
"Not yet."
They left their room together and were in the front hall of the castle when they came across Sophia and Maria talking. Albel nodded a greeting to Maria, but ignored the other girl.
"'Morning boys." Sophia said good-naturedly.
Albel looked as though there was a nice breeze blowing, but nothing that interested him.
Fayt gave her a small smile. "Yeah, good morning. How are you feeling today?"
"I'm really good, actually. Maria's going to take me shopping today." She replied happily.
"Yeah, looking forward to it. In the meantime, I've got to go talk to Adray. He said it was important. No idea what the old muscle head wants." Maria shrugged, waving as she took her leave.
"Fayt… you should come with us. I miss you a lot." Sophia reached out and took his hand by the fingertips. She looked at him sadly.
The boy suddenly pulled back and looked from Sophia to his companion and back again.
"I've…gotta get some fresh air." He turned on his heel and left the two of them there. For some time now, Fayt couldn't stand to be in the same room as those two. The tension was unbearable.
That wench. She's always got her hands all over him. Does she have any idea who he belongs to? I suddenly feel something hot, burning in my chest. Rage is rising up within me so sudden and powerful that I can't bear it and it must be satisfied. My left hand; my claw, my sin, moves without my knowledge. In a moment, that squealing, useless creature is lifted in my grasp, her throat constricted so tightly that she can't even scream.
"Don't you EVER let me see you touch him again!" I throw her aside, like the rubbish she is. She slams against the wall, emitting a small squeak in surprise or pain- it doesn't matter. I move to grind my boot into her when I realize what I've just done. Once more, my uncontrollable rage has caused me to do something that I regret, but will never admit to regretting.
That bitch deserved it.
I wonder how I'm going to explain this one away. Likely Fayt and his bleeding heart will come to my rescue, even in the face of me hurting his precious little woman. She will learn or she will die. The rage is still burning within me, mixed with an emotion that might be akin to fear as I turn on my heel and dash out of the front gates to find Fayt where he waits.
The Blue-haired teenager was sitting on the low stone wall in front of the castle, swinging his legs when he heard Albel's footsteps. He was all in a huff and looked suspiciously pale. Fayt knitted his brow in a show of concern and hopped down to meet him. His friend seemed to be distracted, and Fayt reached out, laying his hand on the man's good arm.
"Are you okay?" He asked quietly.
"Fine." Albel snapped, shuddering under Fayt's touch.
"You know, she's just a girl. You shouldn't let her make you so mad." Fayt offered up with a shrug. Albel's eyes widened discretely as he tried to hide his pleasure at hearing Fayt say "She's just a girl".
"C'mon, let's go get rid of that frustration." Fayt said encouragingly, taking Albel by the wrist and dragging him off to the right. They had taken to sparring in the garden at the foot of an ancient stone staircase. It was reasonably secluded, and had a perfect arena-like quality. Fayt had been the one who showed it to Albel, mostly because he thought it was a nice, quiet place. The Wicked one of course morphed it into the perfect place to spar undisturbed.
So they stood facing each other, weapons drawn and at the ready. It seemed that their matches always started this way, the two men watching each other, reading every twitch of every muscle to judge what the first move should be. Albel moved first, launching into a familiar attack pattern as he dashed in a zigzag pattern towards his opponent. Fayt took a step back and guarded, the attack clashing hard and causing sparks to dance between their swords. The blue-haired boy stepped instantly into his attack, a hard over head strike followed by a heavy side kick. He was endlessly pleased when the kick landed hard, but was caught off guard as Albel raised both his claw and sword at once, bringing them down on the boy in an attack that would have been life threatening if he hadn't sidestepped.
Fayt's jaw was set in an expression of strong determination as he eyed Albel. The standoff continued until the bluenette suddenly leapt to the side and brought a powerful sidekick down on Albel the Wicked, shattering his guard.
"How'd you like that?!"
Enraged, Albel growled, unleashing a sudden shockwave that bowled Fayt off of his feet. He leapt into the air and landed, pinning the Blue-haired boy to the ground with his knee, the Crimson Scourge pressed a little too firmly against the soft flesh of his throat.
"Stop letting me win, fool." He hissed, drawing back and sheathing the scourge. It had left a tiny cut that now trickled blood down Fayt's ivory skin. The Wicked One was transfixed, and the Bluenette was beginning to wonder why Albel was still straddling his chest.
Without warning, the dark-haired man leaned forward and lightly drug his tongue across the wound, wiping the blood away. Fayt gasped, both out of shock and from the sting. Wide green eyes locked on Albel as the man licked his lips, still sitting on Fayt's chest. He shifted and crossed his legs, a cocky smirk dominating his features.
"It is endlessly amusing to scare the shit out of you, Fayt." He chuckled darkly.
Mildly irritated, Fayt shoved the other man off of him in one fluid motion, causing him to roll over to one side. In an instant, Albel had dropped his katana and was more than prepared for a wrestling match. Having rolled into a crouching position gave him an advantage. The Blue-haired boy saw it coming a moment too late and took the full force of Albel's weight. The captain had pounced, using all of the power in his legs to take his opponent down. The Wicked One's momentum caused them to roll several times, further disorienting the shocked Bluenette. He threw a futile punch at Albel, who caught the boy's fist in his hand and used it as leverage to flip him over onto his stomach, pinning one arm under him with his own weight and the other behind his back.
"Now you're completely at my mercy. I can do anything I want to you. I could tie you up… and leave you here, or I could cut that pretty little throat." Albel's threats were whispered against Fayt's ear as he struggled.
He was right. Albel always does get his point across after all. And man does he like to make me feel like he owns me. I don't get that. I'm breathing hard after struggling against him, but I know better than to fight back now; he'll just twist my arm harder. I try to come up with something I can use to my advantage, but what can I do with him sitting on my back and both of my arms incapacitated?
I realize that I can smell Albel. He smells like a mixture of steel and cloves. I like it. I don't know why. For some reason, my heart isn't slowing. It's fluttering like a bird trying to get out of a cage. I try to turn my head a little bit, so I can see what Albel might be up to, when I suddenly feel something soft and warm against my neck and then my ear…
"Albel!" My breath catches in my throat, shuddering as I feel goose bumps coursing across my back and arms. Is he kissing me?
The sensation stops suddenly, and I'm gasping for breath, my cheeks are burning. I feel his breath against my ear, his lips barely brushing it.
"I can feel your heart pounding, fool." He whispers.
"Y-yeah." Is the only response I can choke out.
Oh gods. I don't want him to stop. What is wrong with me? What am I thinking? Why can't I get enough of him?
Albel stood up roughly, poking the partially limp Fayt in the side with the tip of his boot. "What's wrong, moron? Get up." As Fayt rolled over rather miserably, he found that he simply could not look Albel in the eyes. The boy did, however, catch a glimpse of the smirk plastered across his face.
"Well, I dare say that this is a better response than usual. We should do this 'hand to hand' stuff more often."
Fayt was trembling as he got to his feet and stood with his back to Albel as the man stooped to retrieve his discarded katana.
"We should probably head back."
"Sure then, if you're already at your limit." Albel said rather jeeringly. Fayt didn't respond. He stared distantly up the stairs and began to climb them as Albel followed.
I am an idiot. What the hell was I thinking?! Good job Albel. You're just full of genius today!
I follow my prey rather sullenly, genuinely put-out by his strange reaction. I'm interrogating myself as usual. Why the hell can't I stop him, ask him if he's okay, ask him if I really DID scare the shit out of him? I'm making myself sick. He's more than just a hunt… more than just prey to me. Why can't I bring myself to say it? Ha ha… damn me to hell.
"Fayt, go on without me."
He nods wordlessly, evidently used to my aimless wandering. I do it every now and then. Wander around a town or city with no particular destination. Keeps my mind clear I guess. This time however, I have a destination. I begin to meander, trying to look like I'm going no- where. This is a little mission that I can't have anyone following me for. Finally, I've made my way to the small workshop in Aquios. I think I've done a good job, sneaking off since we've been here to get the place in working order. That's part of the gift I've come up with for Fayt. I enter the building and nod a greeting to the hired help inside. The team I've been working with knows exactly what to do.
"How is my project going?" Stanice and Aqua and Evia approached me. Little Evia's smile was sickening.
"It's turned out beautifully. It is definitely one of a kind, just like you asked." Aqua said.
"Then it's done?" I asked shortly.
"Yes, we've finished it. Would you like it now?" Stanice asked, lifting up the little box to me.
"Oh yes, I want it now. Thank you for your services." I added to my demand, thinking it better not to alienate any more of Fayt's little friends than I had to. I took the tiny box and dashed back to Castle Aquaria.
Fayt had returned to the castle seeming a little disoriented, and he had been alone. This only mildly upset the others. However, Maria came to the boy with some disturbing news.
"Fayt… I don't know what happened, but Sophia says…that when you leave, she wants to stay here. And she wants you to leave soon." The girl that had the Alteration gene spoke to him in a hushed tone, her concern evident.
"Why…? I don't understand." His sorrow clouded his expression like mud in a clear stream.
"We don't know, Fayt. But… something seems… wrong with her lately. Don't you think? I mean… I know what happened was really traumatic. It was for all of us. We killed "god". But…" The woman sighed and shook her head. "I don't know, Fayt. I think maybe you should listen to her."
"You… but you guys will all stay. You want me to leave?" The hurt in his green eyes showed how deeply the suggestion had cut him.
"Don't think of it like that… ugh… Fayt. We want you to be happy and we think you should get away from this place."
"It's that again isn't it?! You think I'm sad because of Albel? It's not his fault! Albel is the only one of you who's taken the time to understand me, even you Maria! You of all people should understand me!" Fayt was surprised at his own fury. He closed his mouth, setting his jaw and stepped back. For a moment, he looked at his friend in disbelief and shook his head, turning on his heel and running straight into Albel. He buried his face in the taller man's chest and tried to hide the way his shoulders were shaking and the tears that were causing them to do so.
The Wicked One's head snapped in Maria's direction. He respected the woman, so he didn't start in on her right away.
"What's wrong with him?" He asked, wrapping his good arm around the boy's heaving shoulders.
"He… I… Sophia wants him to leave."
"WHAT?" Albel was taken aback, suddenly realizing the fact that he had not been reprimanded in anyway by the others for his earlier actions.
Could it be that the wench didn't tell anyone? So she took my advice… Excellent!
Albel's lips twisted upwards in a cruel grin, and he clutched Fayt even closer to him. The boy returned the gesture by wrapping his arms around the lithe man's waist, digging his fingertips into the back of his shirt. Albel's expression soured suddenly.
"That little whore's rejection wouldn't break him like this. What did you do?"
Maria seemed offended at the man's choice of words, and set her jaw firmly, as if determining to stand her ground.
"Everyone thought that… he should…spend some time alone and think."
"So you told him that all of his friends wanted him to leave? About time you all knifed him in the back. Maggots." Albel spat and steered the distraught boy down the hall to the room they shared.
"Don't worry Fayt. I won't let them hurt you." Albel whispered once he had the boy seated comfortably on his bed.
Fayt raised an eyebrow, wiping tears from his eyes and looked at his companion. "You say that , but you hurt me all the time." He offered a weak smile.
"You're cute when you smile."
"Did you just say I'm cute?"
"No."
The two sat in silence for a while, while Fayt hiccupped his way past his sobbing.
"You know Albel, I was right. But so were you."
"Of course I was right."
"You're not a bad person, Albel. I just don't know why I'm the only person who gets to see it."
"And how was I right?" Albel reluctantly accepted the boy's words.
"People… always stab you in the back."
The Wicked One froze, taken aback by his words. It was illogical, totally bizarre for Fayt Leingod to say such a thing.
"Fayt… that's not like you."
"What, now you're taking it back?"
"…no."
"Don't get me wrong. They hurt me really bad. But I still love them. I still care about all of my friends. They were… probably trying to help."
"Bah. What makes you think they deserve your love?"
"Because you do too."
Albel was silent at this, looking up inquisitively at the boy from the place he was kneeling by the bed.
"I deserve your love." He repeated, as though he were trying the word out for the first time.
Fayt nodded, and rubbed the tense muscles in his neck. "Albel?"
"Yeah."
"Let's go to Earth together."
"Your home world?"
"Yeah. I want you to see it. I want to show you everything."
"I think it will be interesting."
"Good."
