Nel watched him from the corner of her eye, keeping a frown from her face as much as she could. His previous words made no sense to her. Did he mean that he still cared? Did he look it?
She snuck a glance at him carefully, then shook her head. He looked as emotionless as always when he was thinking, and the only emotion he was very quick at showing was his anger. Since he failed to be angry, he failed to show anything. "Aren't you going to sleep?" she tried, shifting her glance away. The room was cold, and she felt somewhat glad that he had given her the sheets. What they really needed was a big blanket.
She felt him move beside her and she thought he was going to stand when she felt his right hand touch her shoulder. She turned. Emerald met crimson yet again. Instinctively, she started to raise her hand up to push his away but before she could, she felt him tug her forward.
The woman sighed to herself when she found herself back in the man's arms. So he wasn't planning on saying anything again, she decided. Whenever this happened, he said nothing or very little. And he usually ended up getting more distant after the event. When she felt his form shudder a bit, she cracked a faint smile. So the man was cold. And apparently wasn't fond of pink.
"Planning on explaining, Nox?"
His response was a grunt of acknowledgment. She lifted her face from his chest, taking a moment to glance up toward him. Albel seemed distracted, his own gaze scanning the room in silence. When she lifted her hand to his cheek, he flinched, shifting to look toward her. "............." Slowly, he pulled the hand away from him with his. Nel watched as his expression suddenly turned into a sneer. "You said you love me, wench?"
The sneer grated on her nerves, but she figured it wouldn't be worth bothering to dodge the question. "Yes." she stated. She carefully kept her eyes on his, monitoring his expression.
It reverted to nothingness. She knew that it was the question that had caused him to shift. If he had seemed sincere and she had said no, that would have shown weakness. It was a point of protection for the man's pride. "...why?"
Nel blinked a few times, barely catching the question as she felt him move her forward, allowing her to rest her head on his shoulder. She shook her head, putting one arm around his body for comfort's sake. "I don't know." she responded simply. It was the truth. Some time during their travels she had fallen for him, and when and why was not something that was really worth considering. What was important was that she did, and unless something were to go terribly wrong, she would continue to. Like it or not.
"Ah."
"How about you, Albel?" she asked, lifting her gaze toward him.
His response was simply a quick kiss on the forehead. The woman smiled faintly, though hiding her expression from him.
"Why didn't you say anything in Peterny?"
His response was simple. "I wasn't ready, maggot."
So he had gotten ready in the day it took to arrive at Earth? She raised an eyebrow, but thought not to question it. "Hm."
The man trailed his lips down from her forehead to her cheek, and he moved over a bit to look toward her-- almost if asking permission. Nel simply gave him a nod, tilting her head up enough to grant him access to her lips. They exchanged a quick kiss and he paused for a second before bringing her in for one more, pressing into it and almost forcing every bit of his heart into her at once. She pulled away after a moment, trying to catch her breath.
Maybe he couldn't tell her how he felt, but boy was he good at showing it.
The woman pushed him away. "It's late," she pointed out. "Let's get some sleep."
"I thought you weren't sleeping, wench."
She shrugged. "I know I need it. You do too."
When he made no move to budge, she leaned over, giving him a kiss on the cheek. "Go on."
Albel finally stood, speaking only when he had settled back across from her. "It won't work out, worm."
"Of course it will." she said, shaking her head. She had her doubts as well, knowing that Arias was still in construction stage and each of them were still held to their spots in their respective countries. "If that wasn't the case we wouldn't still feel anything for each other after our year apart, would we?"
"Bah."
The response seemed affirmative. The two needed to sleep before thinking of anything more drastic, that was for one. When morning came, Nel was only somewhat surprised to see that the other bed was unoccupied. It was also replaced with sheets which lacked the pink and the frills. She shook her head as she lifted herself off of the bed.
Once Nel had gotten dressed and exited the room, she was immediately greeted by Sophia, who had made something known as pancakes for them to eat. Nel sheepishly poked at the syrup with her fork before trying the food. It tasted little different from Elicoorian food, actually. The other Earthlings were eating together already, but there seemed to be no sign of Albel. Before she could ask, Fayt spoke up. "If you're looking for Albel, he went outside."
The redhead simply nodded, waiting until she was done eating before excusing herself. She had wanted to go and take a look around anyway. Just when she stepped out of the door, Albel seemed to be returning, his expression neutral. "Good morning." she stated and he hmphed his response. Not surprising. The only time that he seemed to want any sort of intimacy was during nighttime anyway. And in sole privacy.
She didn't bother to say any more, leaving the house to look around. To her surprise, she found a trail of schoolgirls looking enviously toward the house, and put a hand to her head. They were probably pining over Albel, she figured, and since he hadn't had his sword handy, he had gotten sick of being fawned over and had left. She felt too humored to be jealous.
Earth seemed secure and yet completely different to the woman, and she trailed her hand over a television screen in a place that seemed to be some sort of shopping center. It reminded her slightly of Moonbase, though she had only stopped by there for a few minutes when they had entered the Eternal Sphere. The people seemed friendly enough, though a few times she thought some of them looked at her oddly. Barely any beings other than humans were around, spare for a single Seraph being she saw, who was tending its wing. She exchanged a few words with the foreigner, then went on her way. The sun was setting around when the redhead returned to the house, and Maria was rolling her eyes when she entered the room. "Cliff and his hunches." she commented.
"What's this about his hunches now?" Nel asked, lifting her eyebrow. The others were gathered in the living room, and Sophia shook her head.
"It seems like Cliff's gotten himself in trouble so he'll be delayed. He said he promised he'd be back here by tonight though."
"He has three hours," Maria was grumbling. "After that I'm going to sleep."
"This early?" Lieber whined, and Nel didn't see what hit him but something did, and he yelped.
"Sorry, Lieber."
Nel shot a glance toward Albel, who was leaning against the doorframe and looking irritable. Fayt had noticed him too and was trying his best to start some small talk, but according to his frustrated looks, he wasn't getting too far. She smiled, starting toward the two.
"So Cliff hasn't changed a bit, it seems?" she interrupted.
Fayt shrugged, turning so he could see her. "I'm not sure. Maria's kept in touch but I haven't seen him much more than you have." a timid smile appeared on his face. "But it seems like it."
"You seem happy about his return."
She caught a flush on his cheeks and shook her head. Not surprising. Albel grumbled a little and she looked toward him, exchanging a glance with Fayt.
BAM.
"Oh, look who's here." Maria stated, her voice dry.
Sure enough, the door was flung open, revealing a tired looking Cliff Fitter with Mirage Koas trailing behind him. Her usual calm expression hadn't changed. "Sorry we're late." she said cheerily. "Cliff took a wrong turn but we were able to fix it by switching in orbit."
The next thing Nel knew, she was getting hugged by the other woman as the two Klausians did their rounds of welcoming. She was most definitely Klausian, Nel figured when she felt the simple movement cause slight pain. She was ready to brace herself from something similar from Cliff when Albel stepped forward, creating enough of a barrier between the blonde man and herself. She didn't know if she should feel grateful, but did anyway. Instead, she spoke around the swordsman. "It's been a while, Cliff."
Cliff was scratching his head sheepishly, seeming to have been done with the other's welcoming. "Yeah."
Nel couldn't help but snicker as Albel was pulled to the side by Sophia, who had gotten bold while surrounded by her friends. Mirage was bowing her head toward the man, who was too busy scowling to say much of any welcoming at all. Cliff took this moment to sneak a whisper. "Since when did that freak Albel stand for reunions?"
Nel shrugged. "It was assigned as a mission for us to investigate the portal you two conveniently told Her Majesty about."
"Ehehehe.... so that's how it went." he glanced to the side. "Uhh, we had uh nothing to uhh, do with that."
"Right." She rolled her eyes and started back over toward Albel, who looked about ready to rip someone apart. Without his sword though, he was much less menacing. She knew he couldn't wait to retrieve it, though Fayt had told him to leave it off when leaving the house. Carefully, she put her hand on the man's arm, causing not only him to tense but all eyes to go toward her.
Albel turned to look at her and she saw Mirage shift her stance slightly-- probably to get in the way if he thought to attack her. "Albel," she stated, "Couldn't you seem a little happier? It is the first time we've all gathered in a year."
"Bah." he snapped, brushing her hand away and stepping aside. The room's tension level went considerably down. The man seemed intent to keep up his facade of their rivalry in front of the others. She supposed it was easier than explaining anything for the time being.
"Well, it seems like none of us has really changed," Mirage commented, sending a small smile toward the others. Her gaze went toward Cliff and then toward Fayt. The blonde man was grinning and patting his friend on the shoulder, and Sophia was pouting a few feet away. So was Maria, though pouting wasn't something that suited her too well. She just looked more annoyed than usual.
"So what are you guys planning for this reunion?" Sophia finally wondered aloud. Cliff glanced toward her, looking sheepish. "Eh? I thought you guys would come up with that."
Nel chuckled to herself. Sure enough, they hadn't changed a bit. Her mind drifted a little as Cliff, Sophia and Mirage began to try and figure out what their plans were. Fayt was watching over them, scratching his head sheepishly and trying to input whenever possible. She knew it would be good to take time off and relax while she could before she returned to Arias. And then Aquaria. And then.....--
She glanced toward Albel, who had a faint smirk on his face. She could tell that although he was showing mostly annoyance he was definitely enjoying the group's company. It probably brought back memories of their adventures.
--And then maybe Airyglyph?
Only if he suggested it, she decided. It would be much better for her if he settled down in Aquaria. Even Kirlsa would be closer to her country than Airyglyph, that was for sure. He had mentioned he was going to help Woltar there soon enough anyway. If she was to be in Arias while he was in Kirlsa-- that would make things much nicer in the long run.
Then again, only if he was planning on committing. She shrugged a little. The night before had only confirmed that he had not lost any feelings toward her, but that did not confirm anything of their future. If they were to have any. It was always somewhat of a mystery what the man was thinking anyway.
"Why not just relax with each other for a few days?" Mirage finally suggested. Everyone seemed rather in agreement with this, even Albel, who shrugged. "I guess I can stand to be around you maggots for a little longer." he stated.
Nel knew he was fascinated with this new world as much as she was and if it was any excuse to stick around and find out a little more about it it was worthwhile. Fayt had stopped with his UP3 talk at the very least, and he had given in for them, since he knew neither were planning on creating advanced technology which might hinder the world of Elicoor as they knew it.
Night came quickly, passed, and came again. Breakfast the second day was spent listening to Cliff's antics during the year. Albel had dismissed himself early again and Nel couldn't help but frown. The group would only be together for one more full day, she knew, since everyone was very busy. It was like a mini-vacation to come to Earth for her and the others. For the time being, it felt almost as if they had barely been apart. They had each spent time speaking about what had happened in the year, minus Albel, who had grunted response when prodded. Fayt and Sophia had returned to their studies, regardless of their role in the universe as they knew it. Ryouko and Sophia's parents had gone on a brief vacation (which would be why they had so many empty rooms for the time being). Cliff had met up with Mirage after she had visited her father, and was still working to improve Quark. Maria had given her position up to live with Fayt and Sophia, but was too busy studying on her own and working with her system to go to class like the other two humans. Nel herself didn't have much to input other than the improvement of Arias, which everyone seemed happy to hear.
That brought her to remember-- whatever had happened to--
"Sorry I was late, guys!"
Adray. Lasbard.
Nel hid her groan as the man entered. A day and a half late to be exact. He still wasn't wearing his shirt. She was starting to forget it was when the last time he had been wearing a shirt. Cliff grinned heartily. "Oh yeah, almost forgot about you. Took you long enough."
"Well, I was finishing up some training with Clair's troop." Adray stated, taking a seat. "It's been a while since I've gotten out of Elicoor. You all look healthy. Hello again, Nel."
Nel attempted a small smile, scooting a little ways from the man. She had kept as far away as possible from him during the rebuilding of Arias, and thankfully Clair had also done her best to save her friend the torture of having to speak with the man. The quiet would be broken now that he was around, that was for sure. Now all they needed was Roger to top off the annoyance. She prayed to Apris that Cliff hadn't thought to invite him.
"Oh, yeah. Remember that runt?" Cliff asked, almost as if reading her mind.
Fayt raised an eyebrow. "Roger?"
"Yeah, him. He said he couldn't make it. Some manly business or something." he shrugged. "And I couldn't contact Peppita. Next time we'll drag her along."
Peppita? Nel didn't know the name. She figured it was someone else they had met during their adventures and she hadn't gotten to see. Her gaze went toward the group. Even Adray seemed to have some knowledge of this Peppita. She decided not to bother to ask. Adray's presence was making her kind of shifty. Excusing herself from the group, she headed to her room, taking a seat on the bed. She knew that she should be just enjoying her small break from her duties, but she couldn't let herself get loose. She took in a deep breath, then let it out.
"Tired already, maggot?"
She didn't have to turn to know who spoke. "No." she said, "I just wanted to think." Albel took a seat beside her and she leaned against him. "That and Adray's back," she mentioned. The man cracked a faint smirk.
"Wasn't he that wench's father?"
"I'd appreciate if you didn't refer to Clair like that." she shrugged. "And yes, he's Clair's biological father. Believe if or not. In my case, I'd rather not."
"Hmph." She knew he didn't particularly care, but it was nice of him to ask at the very least.
The woman let him stroke her hair gently with his normal hand while his claw arm wrapped around her form. She was getting used to the feel of the gauntlet, though it wasn't something she preferred of course. "Albel," she finally tried. When she spoke, he paused, and she brought his hand down to kiss it lightly. "You're not planning on keeping this a secret that much longer, are you?"
To her surprise, he snickered. "You were the one who didn't want to tell anyone a year back, maggot."
She faintly recalled this, and she shook her head. "Our world's safe now." she commented quietly. "Things have changed. I think..it'll be alright."
Nel felt his warm breath upon her neck as he spoke, his voice a faint whisper in her ear. "I'm ready whenever you are."
She nodded, waiting for the claw arm to move aside before she stood up. "Alright." The redhead turned and leaned over a bit, glancing down toward Albel. When she was standing and he sitting, she managed to be tall enough to be able to look down at him, and she smiled faintly, putting both hands on his shoulders. For once, she felt like a giddy child. His right arm slipped behind her, pulling her a few paces to himself before--
The two immediately turned toward the door, hearing a giggle from the other side. Thunk, then a small yelp. Maria's voice. "Lieber!"
Nel sighed, shaking her head. "I guess they already know now." she stated as Albel headed to the door, scowling as he knocked open the door. Lieber, Maria and Sophia were all standing around, Lieber attempting an innocent expression as the other two knew they had been busted.
"I told you so!" Sophia was saying to Maria, who shook her head a few times incredulously.
"I can't believe it." the blue-haired young woman stated matter-of-factly. "Whenever did you two get together?"
Albel was still scowling, his gaze going toward the sword that was resting on the table and Nel sighed, stepping between him and the weaponry. "Actually, not very long ago." she stated sheepishly. Suddenly, she felt a bad feeling creep up in the back of her mind, and she frowned. Her senses were keen, and sure enough Adray Lasbard had barged on in along with the two Klausians, Mirage holding Cliff back as he demanded to know why Albel was in any close proximity to his former rival counterpart.
Sophia was all sparkles. "It's the power of love!" she said, giggling a bit.
Fayt was the last to show up, sighing when he saw the fuss. "Come on guys. If that's the case, shouldn't we let them have a little privacy?"
Cliff seemed to realize something. "Wait a minute, you're letting those two sleep together?! That's wrong!"
Mirage poked him. "You didn't find it wrong yesterday, Cliff."
"But that's 'cause, well, uh... you know." he gestured a few times, trying to convey his thoughts.
"If you have to know, Cliff, there's two separate beds in the room. Whether they choose to use them is another issue." Maria inputted.
"Nel, I hope that you're thinking of using protection!" Adray boomed. "What do you think Clair would think if you came back pregnant?"
Nel put a hand to her head. Since when did their romance turn into a one night fling? Or a several night fling. Or anything that involved something so drastic as to sleep together? They weren't married, for goodness sake! She sighed a bit. The starts of a headache was threatening to stall her concentration. To her relief, Albel finally spoke up, his voice harsh. "Just get out of here, maggots." he hissed.
That most definitely summed everything up. And got them to hurry the heck out of there.
---
The group finally got ready to part a day later, each, with the exception of Albel Nox, exchanging a good amount of hugs and pats on the back. Albel grumbled a bit as the three Elicoorians followed Cliff and Mirage to their ship. In actuality, Cliff had decided it would be a good time to stay around Fayt a little longer, but Mirage had coaxed him to help escort the Elicoorians back before he worried about that. That and Fayt would have to convince the remaining parents about the Klausian. That would probably be more trouble than it was worth. Getting Maria and Lieber permission was hard enough.
Nel stepped up to her black-blonde haired companion, who shrugged and slid his arm around her waist, his claw arm resting a few inches from his sword. He looked much happier now that he had been not only granted free access to his weapon but also to his Elicoorian clothing. It seemed to make him feel much more comfortable. Nel, on the other hand, had requested to keep the clothing that Sophia had gotten for her. They were comfortable. The redhead wasn't planning on wearing the Earthling clothes very often, but if she was to stay off of her duties, it would be relaxing to wear them. Sophia had been glad to let her keep it, and she took along Albel's clothing as well just in case some day he would feel up to wearing it. She doubted it, but it would be something to use if they were ever to return to this... Earth, again. And it was a good memento if not.
Cliff had proposed that each year they would hold a nice little reunion of sorts. Once a year wasn't so out of the way, so each agreed, though Nel had to coax Albel to even nod his response. As they both took seats in the ship, Mirage brought them drinks.
"It was nice to see you again." she commented, taking a seat as well.
"I hope you'll come visit us sometimes." Nel said with a nod. They seemed technologically advanced enough to do so at least. With Elicoor's technology, making something that flew in space and flew out of Elicoor was beyond them. It made for less complications in the long run, though, so she didn't particularly mind. "There's always room for you all there." she added in.
Mirage smiled faintly. "We'd love to whenever we get a chance. It's just been that things have been so busy without Fayt and Maria." she looked thoughtful. "Maybe Cliff will convince them to come back." Nel noted that the blonde didn't seem very confident in this thought, but it was worth the mention. If it was for Cliff, Fayt would more than likely comply, the redhead figured. And vice versa. Which would be why Cliff was planning on staying on Earth. Sophia would have to get used to vying for Fayt's attention, that was for sure.
Nel took a moment to glance toward Albel, who was obviously not listening. His gaze was focused to the side, and his expression blank to signal he was deep in thought. Mirage chuckled a bit. "Did you want a moment?"
"O--oh, no, we're fine," the redhead stated. She wanted none of this special treatment.
"Alright." Mirage seemed as if she was going to say something further when Cliff called out for her over the intercom, letting the whole crew know that they were close to their destination point.
"Get ready to land!" Cliff called out.
The other Klausian nodded, immediately returning to her station. "Roger."