Disclaimer: I do not own Star Ocean or its Characters.

Note: Alright, I wrote nearly this entire chapter from Albel's point of view. Hope it turned out OK.

Dialog – "Blah"

Thoughts – 'Blah'

Bitter-Sweet Motivations

Chapter 13: Labyrinthine Affections

Albel leaned closer to study her face. Her expression hardened. Lines formed on her forehead as she mumbled incoherently. She whimpered again and rolled her back to him. Now she was at the edge of the bed and clutching the blanket.

He placed his claw on the bed and leaned closer; extending his other hand. His fingers came to rest softly on her back. She released another whimper and her whole body tensed under his touch. Testing her response, he applied very little pressure. She tensed more, confirming that she was still engrossed in her dreams. In her dreams she was oblivious to the true owner of the touch she felt.

Something in him cringed. A slow and gradual resentment spread through him for whatever it was haunting her sleep. He harbored a small irrational hatred for the fact he couldn't physically attack what it was she was facing. The only thing he could do was wake her.

"Hey!" he spoke just over a whisper as he applied more pressure to her back.

Her whole body jerked. She gasped and in an attempt to escape an unseen enemy she tried to sit up. Her momentum pushed her up and she swung wildly for the presence that had invaded her thoughts. She was in mid-swing, still too far to land any stray hits on him, when she fell off the bed.

"Ouch."

He blinked a few times and tried to keep his body immobile; but his body betrayed him. Resting both knees on the bed, he grasped the opposite edge and peered down at her. She sat on the floor hugging herself and trying not to shake. She still hadn't noticed that he was there.

He just watched her, unable to speak. She sniffed a few times and fought away her tears. Rubbing her face she moaned lightly. She shook her head and did what she could to relax. He knew it was her ritual to rid any unwanted images that lingered from her nightmare. He had his own ritual and found himself relating to her actions.

She looked around at the floor. "I can't believe I fell out of bed," she said to herself.

He grunted his response. Her eyes darted to his direction and her whole body jerked. She had thought she was alone and was shocked to learn she wasn't. Before she could register who it was looking down at her; her momentum was set in motion. She backed abruptly away from the bed and hit the wall.

"Oww," she breathed holding her head.

"Humph." He tried not to smile. He was successful at holding in his laughter but a smile of amusement still played on his face.

She looked at him with one eye shut. "Huh? Albel…what are you doing here?"

He rose and rested on his knees as she stood. Still holding her head she plopped back on the bed. Lying back, she left her legs to dangle off the side as her hands rested on her midriff.

He looked down at her. "I was told to accompany you to Aquaria."

"Oh."

He couldn't tell if she was disappointed or not. Her voice was still drugged with the residue of sleep. She yawned.

"Humph. Go back to sleep. After no sleep last night and restless sleep today, you will be no good for travel."

She brought herself up on her arms. "No, I'll be fine. I don't think I could sleep right now if I wanted too."

She leaned her head back and looked up at him. She wanted to ask him again why he was there. The explanation he had given her wasn't acceptable – not coming from him. He wasn't the type to just do as told so easily. She had to wonder about his true motives.

"Fine, but if you pass out on the way don't expect me to carry you."

She smiled. She truly looked ridiculous to him. Her angle had her face up-side-down in his view. Odd enough, he had to force his lips not to smile back. When he thought back to how easily it had once been to intimidate her and anger her; he couldn't help but to wonder where along the way things had changed.

His harshness no longer frustrated her as it once had. His nonchalant attitude that once made her frown now made her smile. To make matters worse, he wanted to smile back. He no longer felt the need to pursue her into turning red with frustration. Her smile had become something he wanted to see more then her scowl – though it was still humorous to see the girl angry.

He wanted to hate her for the unexplained feelings he had. He wanted to tell her to go and never come back. He wanted to break her until she wished him dead. But he couldn't. As much as he wanted those things he feared the pain he would feel if any of it came to pass.

He feared her for reasons beyond his grasp. Yet, he clung to thoughts of holding on and never letting go.

Her giggle broke his trance. "What?"

She tried to angle her head to look at him better, but fell back on the bed instead. She giggled more before holding her breath enough to talk. "Sorry, it's just you were staring and I didn't know what to say."

Shaking his head he just stared down at her. He turned to sit on the side of the bed; his legs hanging off the opposite side from hers. After a long while of just laying still, Sophia started to feel uncomfortable at the lingering silence. She sat up and faced his back.

"Are you okay?"

He half turned his head to look toward the head of the bed. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"I don't know. It's just you are really quiet."

He smirked and turned his upper body to face her. "And since when have I been otherwise?"

She smiled meekly. "Well, it's not that. It just seems something is on your mind. Is there something you need to talk about?"

"No."

"Oh, okay," she replied and yawned again.

He sighed so softly she would have missed it if not for the silence that hit hard between them. He leaned back and stretched out on the bed.

She looked at him with confusion. "I thought we were going to Aquaria."

"So eager to leave aren't we?"

She blushed in embarrassment. "N-no, I mean…wasn't that why you came here?"

He rolled his back to her. "We aren't leaving until you've had some decent rest. If that means I must stay here and be certain you sleep then so be it."

She looked down at the back of his head for a moment. A genuine smile crossed her face. She took her shoes off and settled down beside him. Propped on one arm, she leaned over him slightly. She could just see enough of his face to see his eyes were still opened.

"Thanks," she whispered.

"Whatever." His tone was surprisingly gentle.

She rested her hand on his shoulder and kissed him lightly on the cheek. He turned his head to look at her as she lifted her face. Her smile greeted him and he was taken with an impulse to stay in that exact moment. A kiss on the mouth was always something he had viewed as a lover's kiss. But with her, their previous kisses went deeper into realms he was unsure of. But a kiss on the cheek was a true sign of affection. It also hinted at security. She was secure enough around him not to need a kiss back.

Only last night she wasn't secure at all. The girl changed suddenly and he wasn't sure what to make of it. Perhaps Woltar had been wrong. The girl wasn't trying to meet him half way – she was trying to go the whole distance herself.

'Do I really come across as distant? She is truly a fool to put her own desires behind others. That old man is also a fool. According to him she should feel more insecure and push away. Or, perhaps one day she will push away and all that will linger is a bitter resentment for an undernourished love."

He growled at himself and his thoughts. Love? Where did that come from?

Her eyes opened wide with shock and she backed away. "Sorry. I didn't mean to upset you…I shouldn't have kissed you."

"No, it's not that," he grunted.

"Then what is it? Did I do something wrong?"

He frowned at her. "Did it feel wrong?"

"N-no."

"Then it wasn't. You should have more confidence in yourself."

"Oh, right." She gave him a quick nod as her smile returned.

He rolled his entire body to rest on his back and watched as she lay beside him. She faced him but looked at his arm. Her smile faded and though her expression was relaxed it was evident that something was on her mind.

"What's wrong with you now?" He tried not to sound flustered but his frustration came through regardless.

"Huh? Nothing really. Just thinking, that's all."

He raised an eyebrow at her. He refused to ask her what she was thinking about. He felt that the action of doing so would be hypocritical of him since he was not telling her everything. He could only expect the same response from her.

Despite the fact he wouldn't talk, she did. "It's just that I'm not sure what I'll do when I get back to Aquaria. Really, I'm not sure what I should do or where to go. I just don't feel like I belong anywhere."

Her words struck reality straight into him. Woltar's words came back to haunt him and he saw things for how they were and not how he wanted them to be. She wasn't going to go the whole distance. She would try, that much he knew, but she wouldn't be able to hold on if he didn't give her something to hold on to. She had put her honest efforts into reaching out to him but in the end he would have to reach out too. If he didn't then she would give up.

"Nonsense."

She didn't reply. Her eyes searched his face and he knew she was looking for the true meaning behind his response. All this time he had been confident in his ability to 'mask' himself. All this time he was sure no one would see through. All this time he had been wrong. The girl clearly saw him as others didn't. As naive and foolish as she seemed she was able to detect more meaning in his words.

He put his best effort into the frown he gave her. "Do you really need someone to tell you where you belong?"

She chewed her bottom lip. "I'm not sure there's a way for me to help you understand. When I meet with Fayt and Maria that day a lot of options were set on the table. There's the option of staying in Aquaria. Another proposal was to tag along with Cliff. Mirage wouldn't mind if any of us wanted to go to Klaus under her supervision and a few more things were mentioned. But out of all the options, not one felt like something I would be happy with."

"Bah. Life's not about being happy all the time. You ask too much."

"It's not that I expect to be happy all the time. But I would like to be happy some of the time. Life might not be about being happy all the time, but what's the use in living if there's no joy in it?"

"So, you want to be happy."

She shifted slightly. "Yeah, that's exactly what I want."

He rolled over to face her. "Then what do you plan to do about it?"

"Huh?"

"You can't expect things to just turn out the way you want without putting some effort into it yourself. You have to work for what you want, that's what life is about."

"I suppose you're right."

"Of course I'm right."

He watched as she blinked with heavy eyelids. Every time her eyes closed she forced them open again. He fought off guilt as he watched her fight sleep. He was fairly sure she strived to stay awake so not to miss their conversation.

"Don't try to stay awake. It's apparent you are tired."

She stifled another yawn. "Albel, can you do me one favor?"

"What?"

"If you're going to stay then can you wake me up if I start dreaming again?"

"What in your pampered life could you be scared to dream about?"

Her eyes snapped open with a hint of anger. "I know it might seem to you that my troubles haven't been as bad as anything you've been through; but to me it's different. Everyone feels pain in their own way. What happened to me might be nothing to you but to me it was far worse. Just because I haven't been through what you have doesn't mean that I haven't been hurt just as bad."

"Whatever. Just go to sleep. I'll wake you up if you disturb me too much. That you can be sure of."

She pouted her lip out at him before rolling over to face the wall.

Looking at her back made him uncomfortable. He realized that he could only push her so far before she backed away. Granted she had waited much longer then anyone else had before she gave up. She proved that she was honestly trying to understand him; but like all humans she had her limits. He couldn't blame her really. As tired as she was she still put up a fight and controlled her frustration.

It was in that moment that our swordsman came to terms with an idea that made him uneasy. He pondered just how easy it would be for him to hold his temper should he have to deal with himself as our lass had. The answers that presented themselves to him were not in his favor.

He took her shoulder and rolled her to her back. A few tears were present on her face. She set to wiping them away.

"Just go to sleep and don't worry," he said in an emotionless tone.

She gave him a lazy smile proving that once again she read more meaning in his words. Somehow she knew he was apologizing. He wasn't sure how she knew and he couldn't help but to feel uneasy.

"Thanks." She brought her hand to rest on his and closed her eyes. Within seconds she was asleep.

He watched her sleep for a couple of hours. His thoughts kept him company as her breathing kept him calm. She didn't show any signs of nightmares as she slept. He was almost certain that her peaceful sleep was the result of his presence.

Halfway through the morning she had rolled to face him and he was mildly shocked when she burrowed herself into him. She spent the rest of the time with her head right below his chin and her hands on his chest.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Sophia sat at the table of the inn's kitchen. She had just finished her meal and was ready to go. She felt like she had spent too much time in bed. In reality she had but at least the last three hours had been refreshing.

She picked her plate up and handed to the maid in the kitchen. Within no time she stood at the entrance of the inn and waited. Albel had told her he had something to do and to wait for him. After he was done he would be back for her and ready to escort.

She almost giggled as she recalled her first moments of waking. She couldn't believe she would be one to snuggle in her sleep. There had been times in the past she had to bunk with Fayt but never once did she cross the invisible line between her side and his. It was just different with Albel. She was more relaxed.

She did giggle at that thought. If she were to tell anyone she was more relaxed around Albel then Fayt they would surely call her insane. Maybe she was insane or maybe not. Emotions never made complete sense anyway.

"What's so funny?"

She looked up to see Albel glaring down at her. "Oh, nothing really."

He grunted. "Fine. Are you ready?"

"Yup."

She followed him to the main street. Once at the intersection a soldier from the Storm Brigade approached Albel.

"Sir, we've done as you wish. The package will be…"

"Good," Albel said cutting the man off. He gave the soldier a crude look causing the man to snap his mouth shut, bow and walk hastily away.

Sophia watched the man leave wondering what that was all about.

"Are you coming or do you plan to stand there all day?" Albel asked in his usual harsh tone.

Sophia glanced down the eastern way, toward Woltar's mansion. She turned to see Albel walking slowly toward the western gate. She sprinted to catch up with him.

"Albel, wait. Aren't we supposed to go to Aquaria?"

He looked down at her with a frown. "There's something else to take care of first."

They were getting closer to the western exit. He was taking her to Airyglyph and not Aquaria. She wasn't sure if she wanted to know what he needed to do but she was curious why he was taking her with him. He could have left her in Kirlsa.

"What about the others? Aren't they expecting us?"

"Those maggots can wait."

"Um, okay." She decided against further questions. She would just wait and see what was going on when they got to the Airyglyph.

He had been acting strange all morning. She tried her best to suppress her worrisome nature as she followed him through the Traum Mountains. He had told her to have more confidence in herself. The least she could do was try.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

"Cliff, just get Mirage for me." Nel's anger was evident through the communicator in his hand.

"Ah, come on babe. You can tell me what's going on. What are you and Mirage up to anyway?"

"That," Mirage said snatching the communicator from him, "is for us to know and you to find out."

Mirage moved away from Cliff through the streets of Peterny. She waited a while, fairly sure she had lost the man. "Alright, status report."

Nel's expression softened. "They are headed to Airyglyph."

"Airyglyph? I wonder what that is about."

"Who's headed to Airyglyph?"

Mirage snapped her head around to find Roger. Right behind the boy stood Cliff complete with goofy grin and all.

"Oh bother. Nel, there might be a change in plans. I'm coming back that way."

"Yeah, we're all coming," Cliff interjected.

"That's right, we can't let you go alone. Men have to protect the ladies."

Mirage sighed. "Why don't you head on to Airyglyph and find out what you can. The three of us will be there soon."

"Are you sure that's a good idea? We are talking about Cliff and Roger."

"Hey!" Cliff yelled at the communicator. "What's that supposed to mean. Why won't you just tell us what's going on."

Mirage ignored him. "Just be glad Fayt and Maria are on their mission. I think between you and me we can keep these two clowns in line."

Nel smiled. "So be it. I'll see you in Airyglyph."

The communication ended and Mirage put the device away. "Come on guys."

Cliff and Roger followed the blonde out of the southern exit.

"Aren't you going to tell us what this is all about?"

"You'll have to find out when we get there."

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(A/N) I'll leave you all to wonder what's up with going to Airyglyph. Thanks for all the reviews! And if this has inspired anyone then that's great – never thought I could do that :) This story's ended up longer then I thought it would, but that's a good thing.