-1Disclaimer: Alas! Star Ocean doth not belongth to me.
Date Posted: May 20, 2006
Author's Note: I'm so sorry! It's been more than the two weeks I usually give myself before posting something! But my internet went KABOOM! Anyway, wow. People really liked Lethal Triangle more than this one, hm? I guess that Albel was more in character. Personally, I like both of them, so no worries about me quitting.
Albel didn't sleep that night. By the time doctors stopped visiting and turned the lights out to let Fayt sleep, he guessed it was about 3 AM. Luther sat in a chair next to Fayt's bed, sleeping. And that left Albel alone with Fayt, sitting in a chair beside him, watching him intently.
His mind was focused on Fayt, on the quick breaths he was taking. The mere way he was breathing scared Albel, though he wouldn't admit it. He just looks so sick. In the dim light cast by the moon through the windows, Albel could tell Fayt was pale. He would shiver sometimes, his body curling up as if to keep warm.
The time dragged by as Albel watched Fayt sleep. He had all the time in the world in that room with Luther, plenty of time to kill him, and the only thing Albel could focus on was Fayt. If he goes into shock, he'll die. And then it's over.
That thought was what kept Albel up, watching Fayt. Eventually, the sun started to rise, dying the fabric of the sky a soft orange. Fayt woke up then, for the first time that day.
He opened his eyes to find himself staring up at Albel. "Albel?" He asked sleepily.
Albel smirked at him; smiling was something Albel never did. "You're ok?"
Fayt nodded and studied Albel's face carefully. "I'm sorry," he said softly.
Albel shook his head. "You didn't do anything wrong."
"You weren't there." Fayt reached out and touched Albel's hand. His hand was cold against Albel's, but Albel didn't flinch. "You don't know what it was like."
Red eyes were fixed on Fayt's green ones. "What did he do?"
The blue-haired boy tugged on Albel's hand, pulling him closer. "He let me be with someone else. Not you. You should have been the only one, Albel…"
So he regrets it. Albel shook his head again. "Fayt, it's ok. I don't care what you did with him."
Fayt sat up, slowly, and slid out of bed, standing next to Albel. Without hesitating, he leaned in and kissed Albel, arms wrapping around his neck. It took Albel a second to realize Fayt was kissing him without any prompting from him. And then he pulled Fayt closer and kissed him back, sliding his tongue into Fayt's mouth. His hands quickly found a spot on Fayt's hips, sliding under his pants.
Fayt pulled away to breathe first. "I just missed the way you kiss," he whispered.
Albel didn't answer, he just held Fayt's cold, pale body as close to him as he could.
"Albel? Did you even like any of them?" Fayt's voice was soft and innocent, and it took all of Albel's self control not to rip his pants off.
"Who?" he asked instead.
"The other boys. The ones before me."
Albel frowned slightly and pulled away to look Fayt in the eye. "No. It was only lust, and they knew it. You're… I love you."
Fayt smiled. "I love you, Albel."
Albel leaned in, roughly kissing Fayt, and felt him relax. It was all he needed right then, to know he could make Fayt feel better. And if he survives this, I'm going to take him away from Luther. They stood there, embracing silently, letting everything melt away for just a little while.
He could feel how weak Fayt was, and reluctantly Albel let go of him. "You need to rest, ok?" A small part of Albel hated that he sounded so worried, but it was crushed by the fact that it was Fayt he was worrying about.
Fayt nodded and lay back down, closing his eyes. It wasn't long after he fell asleep that Luther woke up, his black eyes instantly fixing on Albel, full of hatred. "Did he wake up?" Luther snapped.
Albel smirked. "Yeah. Not too long ago."
Luther narrowed his eyes and looked from Albel to Fayt. Albel just sat there, smirking, and let Luther figure it out on his own. Because Fayt is mine, and he wants me to kiss him. And with that, they settled back into their routine of waiting and watching.
Albel could feel the waiting starting to wear down on him. Every time Luther moved, he could almost sense it in the quietness of the room. And when neither of them moved, the silence was thick, tangible. Once, Fayt made a small noise in his sleep, a tiny whimper. Both boys leaned forward to comfort him, only to look the other in the eye and glare before leaning back.
If their rivalry had been strong before Fayt got hurt, it was only stronger now, and growing. Reasonable thought was slipping away and giving way to pure, undefined hatred, because now Fayt was in danger, and now he needed someone to be there for him, and both of them were there, when there was only room for one.
According to the digital clock hung on the wall above the door, it was 7 AM when a doctor finally came in and broke the silence. He was the same doctor who had first spoken to Albel and Luther, and glanced at each of them now. "Had he woken up yet?"
Luther nodded. "Just once."
The doctor looked from Luther to Albel, then nodded back. "Hopefully he'll start to wake up more often." Albel watched warily as he unraveled the bandage around Fayt's waist, staring at the cut there.
It occurred to Albel that there would probably be a scar there for the rest of Fayt's life. Because of Luther. Luther marked him. The thought irked Albel, but was brushed aside as the doctor wrapped a new bandage around Fayt, and Albel tensed again as he watched.
Albel relaxed more as the doctor finished bandaging Fayt and let go of him. He carefully refilled the medicine in the IV, before touching two fingers to Fayt's neck, feeling his pulse. Albel's hand twitched, and reflexes begged him to grab the man's wrist and bend it back. Then the doctor let go of Fayt, and he shook the thought away.
"His mother still hasn't shown up, you know." The doctor remarked, as if he were launching into an explanation, though Albel couldn't care less where Fayt's mother was. "We called the police, to make sure everything was ok. They went down to her house. She's been shot."
Albel's eyes fixed on Luther instantly, trying to read him. Luther sighed in fake sympathy, but gave nothing away in his eyes. The doctor seemed to note the silent exchange before continuing. "It's not going to be easy for him when he wakes up. He'll have to find somewhere to live. Could he live with his father?"
"Dead," Albel answered, eyes fixed on Fayt's sleeping face.
The doctor's brown eyes studied Albel, but the boy didn't give him a glance. "Does he have any other relatives?"
"Not that he cares about," Albel answered coldly.
The man frowned, and Albel met it with a glare. He looked away, turning to Luther instead. "So then he's alone?"
Luther nodded, a small nod he seemed to use often. "Now he is, anyway. Except for the two of us."
He seemed to take this in, face contorted in an expression of thoughtfulness. "What exactly are you two to him?" The doctor seemed to be picking his words carefully, and still he managed to ask a question that had them both glaring at each other in an instant. He waved a dismissive hand. "I know, you're his lover, and you're…." He looked up at Luther. "A friend, you say. It's none of my business, but you two… don't seem fond of each other."
That's an understatement. Albel shrugged as if he didn't care. "What is it to you?"
The doctor studied Albel carefully for a moment. "I'm not blind," he remarked. "There's… more to you two than you're telling us."
Albel turned to him, red eyes glowing. "Maybe you should be blind to it. Nothing is going on here that concerns you."
The man merely smiled knowingly. "No, it doesn't. Just don't let it get to Fayt. He's going to have a lot to deal with when he wakes up."
Crimson eyes reassessed the doctor before Albel looked away. "I know," he answered quietly.
The doctor nodded, almost sympathetic. I don't need his pity, or his advice. I can handle this by myself, I always have. I've always been by myself. Albel cast a glance at Fayt. Not anymore. I can do everything by myself, but without Fayt it means nothing.
The sound of the doctor's clean white sneakers hitting the clean white floor reached Albel's ears, and he registered that him and Luther were alone now, except for Fayt's sleeping body. Luther looked at him for a moment, before opening his mouth and breaking the silence with his simple, determined words. "I'm not going to give up."
Albel glared at him, before sitting in the chair on his side of Fayt's bed and staring at the sleeping boy. He heard Luther do the same, and the silence poured down, filling the air again, chipping away at Albel's mind.
A thousand things must have gone through Albel's mind that day, blindingly bright thoughts that made the love and hate and defiance that normally ran through his mind a pale, washed out color compared to the neon colors he thought in now. He wondered if Luther could feel it too; the atmosphere that was crushing him, and he wanted to fight back so badly. Albel could feel all the energy building up in him, wishing he could fight and make everything okay. Because anything was better than sitting by Fayt's bedside, helplessly watching him.
Fayt stirred during the evening, and Albel's focus on him intensified. Deep green eyes cracked open, revealing their bright color against his washed-out, pale skin. And then Fayt was awake and staring up at Albel.
Relief consumed Albel, and the bright neon colors swirling in his mind intensified. "Fayt!" Albel leaned in, staring into Fayt's eyes, and for some reason the only thing he could think was that Fayt had beautifully alluring eyes.
Fayt smiled cutely at Albel. "Albel, have you been here the whole time?" The way he said Albel's name was soft and innocent, and Albel knew this was why he was still there in that hospital.
Luther's colder voice cut in, dripping with jealousy. "We both have."
Fayt looked to Luther, and Albel noted that he was breathing harder, as if it was difficult for him to get air. "Fayt, you're breathing hard. Are you ok?" The blue-haired boy nodded, but Albel sensed he was lying. "Fayt, you don't look ok." He reached out and took Fayt's hand, feeling the pulse on his wrist. It was beating rapidly, but it was a very faint pulsing.
Albel looked up at Luther instantly, and for a moment Fayt himself was more important than their rivalry over him. The blonde boy reached out for Fayt's other wrist, but Fayt pulled it away. "What's wrong?" Luther asked, looking apprehensively at Albel.
"It's weak," Albel answered. The neon colored thoughts rushed through his mind all at once, and Albel suddenly found himself pulling Fayt up to him and hugging him tightly. "Hang on, Fayt," he whispered.
Luther took one look at them and stood up, walking out of the room and yelling for a doctor. Albel didn't care what happened, he wasn't going to let go of Fayt. Fayt didn't even try to hug Albel, he just lay in Albel's arms weakly.
"Don't die, don't die, please don't die," Albel whispered over and over.
"I'm going to be alright," Fayt whispered back. "I'm ok."
He just doesn't want me to worry. If he dies… if he dies….
Albel's thoughts didn't make sense even to him. They were a jumble of emotions and blindingly bright colors. When the door flung open and several pairs of footsteps sounded against the cold, white floor, Albel barely noticed. All he knew was that Fayt was dying, so clearly dying.
A soft female voice came from behind Albel. "It's going to be ok. Can you let go of him?" He clung more tightly to Fayt, looking back at the woman with narrowed red eyes. "Please, we need to treat him."
Slowly, Albel set Fayt down. And he could see the change in Fayt- from safe and comfortable to suddenly scared and alone. Doctors swarmed around him, and Albel stepped back, leaning against the far wall.
Whatever they did was a blur to Albel, people shouting at each other, muttering curses, and fussing around Fayt. But when the crowd thinned out to only two doctors, Fayt still looked like he was dying. He just lay there, eyes wide open and staring at the ceiling.
Albel and Luther exchanged glances, mixes of hatred and worry, before both walked towards Fayt again. One of the doctors, a woman with short blonde hair, explained. "He's gone into shock. He may collapse during the day, and if he does, just let him sleep."
"Is he going to die?" Albel asked sharply.
She sighed. "We don't know. It's highly possible, then again, he was in pretty good shape before the wound. Speaking of it, how did he get that knife stuck in him? You two look like you were in a fight yourselves."
Luther answered quickly, "We were attacked. We both tried to keep her away from Fayt, but she threw the knife at him."
Albel glanced at Luther, but his expression gave away nothing. The nurse nodded, seeming to believe Luther's story. "Do you remember what she looked like?" The woman asked, looking to Luther. Luther nodded confidently. "Then we'll need you to come with us and describe her to the police." She turned to Albel. "Do you remember her?"
Luther might have a plan. "No," Albel answered, glaring at Luther. He stabbed Fayt. But it doesn't matter, not if Fayt dies.
The doctor nodded and led Luther out of the room, the second doctor following them. And then Albel turned to Fayt, a million colors he couldn't name rushing through his head. Somehow he still managed to see Fayt, green eyes staring up at him. He slowly knelt in front of the bed, taking Fayt's hand in his. "I'm sorry," Albel whispered.
Fayt shook his head. "You didn't do it. Luther did. Albel, am I going to die?"
Albel looked down. An awkward neon green exploded in his head, and he blurted out, "I don't know."
Emerald eyes were studying Albel carefully when he looked back up. "I don't want to die." It was the simplest thing he could have said then.
The colors in Albel's head all turned to bright, burning red. Somewhere in his mind, he thought he might be going mad, and then there was no time for thought as he leaned in and kissed Fayt firmly. He could feel Fayt's breath catch and pulled away to let him breathe, their lips still touching. "I don't want you to die, not before I do."
Black and blonde hair spilled over Albel's shoulders and around Fayt as they stared at each other silently. It was Fayt who broke the silence. "Don't give up if I die," he whispered.
Albel didn't answer. He just stared back at Fayt, and they didn't need words. Everything had gone too far to be solved by simple promises. And for the first time in his life, Albel knew he would have to do what he feared- rely on love.
Author's Note: There you go! XD I'll try to post chapter 5 early, mmk? Maybe next weekend. Ohh, I'm going to an anime convention next weekend! I'm so excited. I'm cosplaying as Namine from Kingdom Hearts. And no one has the ugly blue shoes I need. Ah well. Anyway, Albel is kind of losing it, isn't he? Yes, he is. Wait until the later chapters… You have no idea how much music is inspiring Albel's madness and Luther's jealousy. It's quite awesome. I'm really starting to like his story, you know that? Having less readers is fun! XD But feel free to review anyway.