Real Love—Grace

by taitofan

Rated PG for het

Disclaimer: If I owned Star Ocean 3, the four optional characters would have been mandatory, Sophia would have pulled an Aerith, Melt would have done more, and AlbelxFayt would have been canon. None of that happened, and thus, I don't own it.

Author's notes: Ah, the first het chapter! There'll only be one more, so I hope het fans like it. Granted, it's very short… But I can only write such an introspective fic for so long. Ah well. Anyway, I really like Roger's canon crush, so I play with that here. And there's some yaoi hints for other couples if you squint. Yes, one is the same couple I've hinted at in the past two chapters, so sue me. I really just need to write them their own fic… Oh, back on this fic…yaoi next time, and probably humor, so stay tuned!

10whores prompt: 07. grace

Flames do nothing but make me laugh, although I'll listen to any CC you have. Please read, review, and enjoy! Finished 03-10-07


Nel Zelpher was very graceful if you took the time to look at her.

Roger looked at Nel a lot. Ever since he'd been rescued from the bandits in Duggus Forest, the deadly Crimson Blade captain had been all he could think about. Was this the love that Lucien had bragged about? The thing he could only feel once he was a real man? If so, he certainly was a man, because what he felt for Nel was unlike any feeling he'd ever had. And since he'd never been in love before…

Nel was beautiful—that was the first thing Roger noticed about her. Her short red hair, bright purple eyes, those clothes… Could a boy just staring puberty be blamed? Her voice was next. It wasn't highly pitched like a lot of girls he knew, but it was still feminine and very pretty. Her personality was interesting too. She was serious about her duties to Aquaria, but she was still loyal to her friends. And unlike certain blond lummoxes he knew, she hadn't pitched a fit when he'd joined them the first time, nor when he'd joined up again in Surferio. She was so nice to him, and they fought so well together.

Her fighting…that's what he was drawn to the most. She was fast, always going right for the kill. His attacks had an execution lag, but she always kept them busy while he prepared. And he hadn't missed the fact that she always healed him first. Healing was something he needed a lot of too… He found himself watching her grace and beauty as she ran around the battlefield with her daggers drawn so much that he often was hit by attacks he'd otherwise dodge with ease. She never chastised him though, even when the other yelled at him to pay more attention to the battle. No, she just smiled that mysterious smile of hers after the fighting was done and told him that he'd done well…

And now, back in Surferio again after traveling all over the continent with Nel and the others for months, he missed her horribly. Lucien and Lezard teased him mercilessly about his distraction after every Real Man Contest. Dribe was always too busy yelling at Lucien to leave his "brother" alone to really notice, but nothing escaped Melt.

"You miss that woman." It wasn't a question, but Roger nodded anyway. "Then you shall be very pleased tomorrow." The confused Menodix boy tried to ask what he meant, but at that moment Lezard said something to his rival and all hope was lost. When those two got started, just like Lucian and Dribe, there was no stopping them. He supposed he'd just have to wait until the next day…


Roger awoke to the sound of voices that belonged neither to his parents nor to his friends. Well, not his friends in Surferio at any rate. No, those voices belonged to…

He quickly threw back his blankets and, still in his pajamas, he rushed out of his bedroom. The sight he was met with made him grin. He'd have to find Melt later and thank him for the warning.

"Fayt, Nel, everyone! Great to see ya!" Cliff muttered something about being chopped liver, but Roger ignored him. He was too busy wondering how Nel got even prettier in just the few weeks since they'd parted.

"Hey Roger," Fayt spoke up, smiling down at the boy, which Roger readily returned seeing as Fayt was the only one besides Nel who was nice to him. "We just got back from…well, it's a long story. To get to the point, do you want to come with us? It'll be dangerous, but it'll save the universe."

Roger didn't even need to know what they were going to do; he would find that out later. Now he only knew one thing—Nel was going, so he was going too.

"Sure, I wanna go too! Anything to help! Woohoo, another adventure!" He noticed then, out of the corner of his eye, the others' reactions. Cliff looked annoyed, Maria looked bored, Fayt was smiling at his enthusiasm, a girl he hadn't met was staring at him as if she'd never seen a humanoid before, and Nel…

She nodded to him curtly before looking away, but Roger knew that she understood. She had to; she was too smart to miss it. And she didn't mind…

It looked like he'd be watching is graceful maiden for quite some time to come.