A/N: I can't believe that this story is almost done with. I know the basic plot outline for all the rest of the chapters, but I can tweak things a little bit if I need to. I'll be so sad once this story is all done with. Oh well. That just means I'll have to do all the one-shots I have planned.

Albel: It's time you updated again, you f-

Fayt: Albel, don't swear at the author! You don't use such language in the game so you can't use it here.

Albel: Oh, come on. In the game I say fool, and I just wanted to add an adjective.

Fayt: The only word beginning with an f that should come out of your mouth is fool, and that wasn't it.

Albel: who do you think you are, my mother?

Fayt: No, I'm your boyfriend.

Albel: What? When did this happen?

Fayt: Don't you remember what happened between us in that nice secluded place in the woods?

Albel: -backing away- Fayt, I didn't do anything with you It was completely innocent. You did something to him, I know it! Fix him!

Me: sorry, Albel, you're on your own. If Fayt chooses to remember things differently, I'm sure the fans will be happy. XD

Disclaimer: This is fanfiction, which means I am just your average ordinary rabid fangirl, Albel's in particular. But Fayt's cool too. The angst is strong with this one…

Despite having enjoyed the afternoon he had spent with Albel, Fayt felt oddly depressed. He had become quite fond of the angry warrior. Okay, maybe more than quite fond of him. He was relieved that Albel had already taken out all his irritation with him and the promptly dismissed the matter. Albel was not type to hold grudges, except against Aquarians. Grudges were far too troublesome. They distracted his thoughts from battle.

Fayt felt very guilty for getting too close to Albel. The swordsman had made it plain that he was not interested in friendships. He wanted to be miserable and alone. Yet Fayt could not stop thinking about Albel's laughter.

"I'm making him happy against his will," Fayt realized. "He was trying to avoid me and then I chased after him. God, I've gotten him into so much trouble. I really am a fool. How can I ever make it up to him?"

Fayt needed time to think, but several people kept barging into his room. First Cliff wanted to know if Fayt wanted to come to the tavern with him, then Nel offered to spar with him, and Sophia told him she was there if he needed to talk. The list went on and on. Fayt politely declined all the offers, preferring t remain in his room. After awhile he ignored any interruption by simply sitting at the desk in his room at the inn and staring off into space. Soon, everyone stopped bothering him. Still, it was late evening before an idea finally came to him. Luckily, he had plenty of paper for writing. It took several drafts before the note was finally finished. With a satisfied sigh, Fayt set the note on his bed for anyone to find and slipped off into the night.

Nobody noticed Fayt's absence until the next morning. Cliff and Nel were sitting in the front of the inn, warming themselves by the fire when Albel burst into the room, too enraged for words. Only after kicking over a few chairs, cutting a large gash into the table and flinging a vase into the fire could Albel speak. Cliff and Nel watched with interest as Albel took a deep breath to control himself. "Have you maggots seen Fayt?" he demanded.

"No," Nel said carefully, sure that Albel wasn't entirely stable. "He should still be up in his room. I've been up since dawn and he hasn't been out of his room since I've been up."

"So the fool's actually done it," Albel snarled, kicking over another chair for good measure.

"Done what?" Cliff asked curiously.

Albel waved a piece of paper in front of Cliff's face too quickly for the Klausian to read it. He snatched it from Albel's hands. "Lemme see that thing!"

Albel paced the room, unable to control hiss anger. "Fayt wrote that he's going away so he won't be a nuisance to us."

Cliff looked up from the paper, an astonished look on his face. "You can read."

Albel immediately halted his pacing, whirled around and came far into Cliff's personal space so there was barely and inch between them. "You're looking death in the face, worm, and I assure you, if you keep it up, pretty soon you won't have a face. Now is not the time to be stupid. I am not in the mood to trifle with idiots."

"Albel's right," Nel cut in. "What does Fayt say in that note?"

Cliff read the note aloud. "'Dear friends, I am sorry to have been such a burden to you for so long. You'll no longer have to worry about protecting me I'm going far away. It'll be better if no one knows where I am. That way you won't be killed. Please do not come searching for m to make sure I'm safe. I'll be fine. Whoever finds this, please tell Albel that I won't tell anyone his secret so he doesn't need to worry about that.'"

Cliff glanced up. "What secret?"

Albel looked embarrassed. He reddened slightly. "Uhh…the time you found me in the woods being…" He swallowed hard, unwilling to continue.

Luckily, he didn't have to explain further. Cliff looked enlightened. "Oh yeah, THAT secret. Heh, it looks like you won't have to worry about worms trying to ti-" Cliff cut himself up by clapping a hand over his mouth. He looked horrified. Albel gave him a disgusted look. "Whoops."

Nel looked intrigued. "What secret? What's this about?"

Cliff shrugged. "Sorry, Nel. If Fayt won't tell, neither will I." He deliberately looked back at the note to change the subject. "'And please tell Albel that I-' Hey! It's all scribbled out. I can't read it."

Albel smirked. "It probably says to 'tell Albel that I fear him.'"

Cliff glared at Albel. "Oh yeah, I'm sure that's what it says," he said sarcastically. "Because, of course, you're all fearsome and everything. Oh yeah, I see it now! That's exactly what it says!"

Albel scowled. "What's your problem? I thought you said you couldn't read it?"

"It could be something important," Cliff muttered. "Now we'll never know. Oh wait, there's more. 'Tell Sophia not to worry. Fayt.' Hey, that's not nice. He only mentioned you and Sophia, nothing about the rest of us."

Albel smirked. "Turn it over, idiot."

Cliff flipped over the note. "'Cliff, you're a-' Hey, this is your writing!"

Albel shrugged. "It's not my problem if Fayt chose to write on the back of a paper I already used."

Cliff scowled and crossed his arms over his chest. 'You did that n purpose."

"So what if I did?"

"Guys, stop," Nel commanded. "What are we going to do about this? What are we going to tell the other?"

"We're not telling them anything," Albel growled. "We're going to find that fool and drag him back here. Bah, far away. He can't even take a step without nearly getting himself killed. What makes him think he can survive out there? We're going to have to go after him so he doesn't die."

Cliff looked amused. "Since when do you care whether he lives or dies?"

"Of course I care," Albel growled.

Cliff raised an eyebrow. "Oh really?"

Albel realized how that sounded and quickly tried to backtrack. "I mean, if he dies, I want to be the one to kill him. I don't like killing unless I'm doing it. Nobody steals from me what's rightfully mine to kill, except for Aquarians. They're too weak to be worth my time killing them." Albel glared at Nel, daring her to challenge him, but she wisely stayed silent.

"What are we gonna do?" Cliff asked. 'We don't know how long he's been gone or where he went."

"I will find Fay," Albel growled. "Those things make no difference to me. I will go by myself because you fools will only slow me down. And when I find the fool, he'll wish he had never been born." Albel's eyes were murderous.

"Take a horse with you to carry supplies," Nel suggested. "You might be searching for awhile."

Albel waved her off. "I need nothing. I will be back by nightfall." With a savage grin, Albel slammed the door and stalked off.

Cliff and Nel exchanged a glance. "Do you really think he'll be back by tonight?" Nel asked.

"You want to bet on it?"

"No, we shouldn't be gambling on this. Fayt is going to really regret running off. I'm not sure I trust Albel with Fayt when he's in such a bad mood. He seemed ready to kill Fayt."

"Yeah." Cliff grinned. "And I think I know why." He looked at the note thoughtfully. "I think we can get to the scribbled out parts. I'll rig up something on the ship to separate it out."

A few minutes later Cliff came back beaming. "I thought so. I don't know if Albel knows about this or not, but I'm sure he feels the same way about Fayt. Look!"

Nel glanced at the sentence minus the scribbles. "Love him?" she repeated incredulously. "Cliff, are you sure about this?"

"Yeah, it totally fits. Fayt thought he'd never see Albel again so he anted to tell him, but then changed his mind maybe because he was afraid we'd read it and get mad or maybe Albel would come after him."

"Well, that all happened anyway," Nel sighed. "Why would he fall in love with Albel? Albel doesn't even like him."

"Oh, you never know," Cliff said mysteriously. "I caught them in the woods the other day-well, never mind. I promised I wouldn't tell."

"Kissing?"

"No."

"Sex?" Nel looked horrified.

"No, nothing like that! It's just-well, Albel has top be less tough around Fayt. It's good for him. Fayt even got to him to laugh."

Nel crossed her arms over her chest. "Well, let's hope that Fayt lives long enough for him to confess his feeling to Albel.

Cliff grinned. "I'm going to make bet with Mirage that those two get together. Mirage! Hey, Mirage!" Cliff was already gone.

Nel sighed and silently wished Fayt luck with the emotionally unstable warrior.

Fayt trudged through the streets of Arias. He had made his way directly there from Peterny. He was oblivious to all the dirty looks he was given because he was absorbed in his own thoughts.

I should have said goodbye. Well, I did in the note, but I should have said good-bye properly. I wonder who will find it. Probably Nel. She's usually awake first. Well, whoever finds it; I don't envy them the task of explaining things to Sophia. If anyone, she'll be the one to come after me, certainly not Albel.

Fayt's thought drifted to Albel. What had possessed him to write that he loved him? He was trying to break off with him and declaring his love for him was just the thing to make Albel come looking for him.

"Oh well," Fayt said softly. "It's better for us both if I stay away. I won't threaten your life. I know you don't love me. You just want to be my friend. One you find out, you won't want to be around me anyway, so it's better if I leave now."

"It's him," a raspy voice hissed. Startled, Fayt spun around in alarm to find and old crone looking at him with unfriendly eyes. "You're the one who kills without mercy. A wicked boy not worth his life." She spat viciously in Fayt's direction.

"Oh no," Fayt said quickly. "That's Albel, Albel the Wicked. He's from Airyglyph."

"Bah, insolent boy. We know of Albel the Wicked. But you're the one who killed all those soldiers." She pointed a gnarled finger at him accusingly.

"No, no, no. That wasn't me. It was the Vendeeni ship."

"You summoned it with your evil powers!" the old woman shrieked, her voice rising to a shrill pitch. "Deathbringer! You deserve death!"

Several large, seedy looking men stepped out from the building behind the old woman, wearing threatening scowls as they advanced towards Fayt.

"No!" Fayt pleaded. "Pleas, it's a misunderstanding. I didn't-I didn't!" He drew his sword nervously.

A small boy dashed under Fayt's legs, tripping him onto his back. The boy danced around Fayt and stomped on his hand. With a small cry of pain, Fayt reflexively opened his hand. The boy seized the sword and dragged it a distance away. He returned and began dancing around Fayt, viciously kicking at him and taunting him. "Die, scum! Deathbringer! Deathbringer! Die, die!"

Whimpering, Fayt curled up into a ball. "No, I didn't-didn't mean to. I didn't mean for anyone to die." His voice sounded hollow to his own ears.

Out of the corner of his eye, Fayt saw a raised fist, and then all was black.

Fayt woke up a few hours later, sore and bruised all over. He could taste caked blood in the corner of his mouth. With a groan, Fayt laboriously sat up. He was still in the middle of town, lying in the dirt, right where they had left him. However, his attackers had all gone. It was getting late and the sun was starting to set. Fayt shivered with cold. His clothes were ripped and wouldn't protect him from the night air.

Fayt was cold and hungry. His sword was gone and so was his food. He hadn't eaten since the day before and he felt weak. He huddled against the building for shelter and dozed fitfully.

Fayt was awoken by a loud clattering noise through the middle of town. He jerked awak to see Albel dismounting form a brown horse.

"Fool!" Albel shouted. "How did you think you could survive on your own? You're lucky I came looking for you."

Fayt tried to mumble a thank you through his chapped lips. "Albel…"

"No talking!" Albel ordered. "Get your sorry butt on that horse so we can go back to Peterny. I am NOT carrying you."

Seeing as how Fayt could not get up on his own, Albel unceremoniously yanked him to his feet and then tossed his over the horse's back. "You are in such trouble," he hissed through his teeth. "You're lucky I don't kill you now, fool." Albel swing himself onto the horse behind Fayt. He bared his teeth fiercely. "But when we get back, we're having a long talk about your stupidity."

Fayt did not doubt Albel's words as Albel violently kicked the horse's side and made off for Peterny.