A/N: Aww, it's the very last chapter…I'm planning on an epilogue too…but I'm still sad...this thing is almost over. For those of you hoping for a lemon...yeah, not happening. XD well…sorta…I'm not sure what to call it…but it's really crappy, whatever it is. sniffle Well, I've got several stories in the works besides this one...so I won't be going away any time soon. XD

Disclaimer: I don't own Star Ocean…nothing has changed…but I do own my own Albel that lives in my head and gives me ideas…now how will I ever get him to leave? ;;

Albel opened his eyes to find Fayt looking down at him. Albel scowled. "Okay, what time is it? I need to get up."

Fayt didn't answer. He just looked at Albel strangely. "Who says you have to get up now?"

Albel snarled. "I fell asleep, so it's probably morning right now…and that means it's time for me to get up."

"You don't have to get up now," Fayt said petulantly. "Can't you stay for a little longer?"

Albel frowned. "Fayt, what's wrong with you?"

Fayt got up and closed the blinds and came back to sit on the edge of Albel's bed. "We can stay in bed all day." He looked at Albel sideways.

"No, I'm not going to stay in bed all day. I'm not an invalid." Albel attempted to get up but Fayt pushed him back down.

"Don't you like me at all?" Fayt whispered, looking hurt.

"Of course I do. What the heck is wrong with you, Fayt? Just tell me what's going on."

Fayt smirked and looked at Albel with a very strange expression of lust, love, hate, and mischief. "Do you know what I've just realized?"

"Uhh, no, not really." Albel found himself backing away from this strange Fayt.

Fayt crawled closer to Albel. "I've just realized that we haven't had sex yet."

Albel scrambled backwards. "No, really, that's okay. I don't want to do anything until you're ready."

Fayt paused ad began to look almost normal again. "I'm ready whenever you are."

Albel laughed and Fayt looked at him oddly. "You're a little too late, fool."

Fayt frowned. "Why is that?"

"I've been ready since the day I met you."

Fayt looked puzzled. "But you didn't even like me the day you first met me."

"Exactly. I wanted to rape you and wipe that smile off your face. Who were you to tell me what to do? I couldn't stand you. I though you were some self-absorbed prig."

"Albel, that's mean!"

Albel sighed and gently stroked Fayt's cheek with a thumb. "I've changed since then. You were right about me. I needed to learn to be responsible for those around me."

Fayt kissed Albel's hand. "You take responsibility for me, don't you?"

"Yes, that's because I care. I have to make sure you're protected."

Fayt smiled brightly. "And if you really want to make sure I'm protected..."

The mischievous look was back. Albel groaned. "No, Fayt. Not now, not here."

"Then when are we supposed to do it? I love you, you love me. That's all that matters, right?"

"Fayt, what's wrong with you? You're acting so…different."

Fayt laughed. "No, you're the one that's acting different. I know you want this." He jumped onto Albel and pinned him to the bed. He poked at Albel's skirt/sarong thing. "Now, how does this come off?"

Albel woke up screaming. Fayt sat up in bed next to him and gently put a hand on Albel's chest. "Did you have a nightmare, future husband?"

"Aaargh!" Albel shouted. "When will this nightmare end?"

Fayt looked hurt. "You mean you would never want to marry me?"

"That's not what I said, fool. The way you said it makes it sound like we're engaged, and we're not. I'm not planning on getting married anytime soon."

"Oh." Fayt settled back down into bed. "So, what were you dreaming about?"

"I was-" Albel broke off with a frown. "Fayt, were you playing with my sarong?"

Fayt blushed heavily. "Err-I'm sorry, Albel. I was just-I was curious."

Albel looked amused. "You were curious as to what I wear underneath?"

"No! I mean, that's not what I was doing! I was just-curious to how you-err, wear it, keep it on…something like that."

Albel chuckled. "Fayt, do you have a problem?"

Fayt blushed even more furiously and Albel smiled knowingly. "Fayt, do we need to take care of this problem?"

"Err…no, I'm okay. Really, you don't have to go through any trouble and uhhh…hey!"

Fayt broke off as Albel grabbed onto his arm and pulled him closer. Albel started Fayt down, an inch from his face. "Do you want my help or not?"

Fayt was breathing heavily. He looked very afraid. "I do but...I'm afraid."

Albel sighed and released Fayt. "I'll wait until you're ready."

Fayt looked distressed. "You can't tease me like that…acting as if you'll be angry if I say no, but then not caring either way."

Albel rolled his eyes. "Fayt, I'm not going to force you to do anything. You wouldn't love me if I raped you."

Fayt sighed. "The thing is, I don't think I'll ever be ready."

Albel held Fayt tightly and ran his fingers through Fayt's hair. "It's okay that you're afraid. I'm Albel after all, the one everyone's glad to have fighting on their side, as long as they don't have to fight near me. You're a lot braver than most people, Fayt. Nobody has ever gotten this close to me before."

Fayt buried his head in Albel's shirt. "I want you to be happy. You keep going about how nobody loves you. I love you and that's not going to change. You've taught me a lot. I wish I could be brave like you."

Albel rolled his eyes. "I'm not being brave. Believe me, it will hurt you, but it won't hurt me. It's perfectly understandable that you're afraid of pain."

"I'm not afraid of pain!" Fayt protested. "It's just-all this is so new to me. I've never felt like this before, this squirmy feeling in my stomach."

Albel raised an eyebrow. "When you talk about this squirmy feeling, you refer to being aroused?"

"Aargh! I hate that word! It's so…so…..I dunno...it just sounds so weird."

Albel looked amused. "Fayt, you are just too innocent for your own good. It's a perverted word for a perverted action."

Fayt sighed. "Albel, let's just get it over with. The longer we talk about it, the less willing I'll be. I'm scared, but I'll deal with it."

Albel frowned. "Are you positive, Fayt? I don't want you getting hurt just for me."

"Yes! I said you could go ahead. Just do it!"

"Fine, fine. I'll get ready."

Fayt's eyes were already scrunched up in pain. Albel looked unhappy. "Are you sure you can handle this?"

"Yes," Fayt said weakly.

"Does it hurt?"

Fayt let out a long shuddering breath as Albel pulled him closer. "Yes, a little, but I can handle it. Please, keep going."

"If you insist," Albel said dryly.

Nobody outside the room heard anything except a shrill shriek from Fayt after wards as Albel bit him on the neck.

"owwww! What was that for?" Fayt complained.

"That was a love bite," Albel said cheerfully.

Fayt angrily rubbed at the reddening spot on his neck. "That really hurt. That wasn't a love bite; that was a hate bite. What did I ever do to you to make you want to hurt me that badly?"

Albel shrugged apologetically. "I'm just claiming you as mine."

"You already did," Fayt rolled up his sleeve to display an A-shaped scar.

Albel nodded approvingly. "That's very nice. Maybe I should have given you a matching one on your neck."

Fayt laughed and pushed Albel away. "Okay, enough messing around. We need to get dressed."

Once properly dressed, Fayt and Albel settled back into bed together. Someone knocked on the door and Fayt lazily called out, "Come in!"

Sophia crept into the room looking slightly nervous. "I thought I heard a scream and I wanted to-" She paused and studied the smug smirk on Albel's face. "Oh no, tell me you didn't."

Fayt blushed and Albel proudly pulled Fayt's shirt down to show Sophia his mark. "See? I claim him. Fayt's mine."

"You are a stupid-" Sophia began.

Maria excitedly elbowed her way past Sophia. "What happened in here? Did you guys do it?"

Albel looked disturbed. "We weren't that loud, were we?"

"No, Fayt just screamed once…at least, I think it was Fayt…and I got hopeful."

Albel frowned. "I just bit him and he screamed."

Maria looked crestfallen. "You mean…you guys didn't?"

"Yes we did. Amazingly, Fayt did not scream for that part. Being bitten hurt him more."

Maria squealed. "Oh good for you! I have to tell Peppita and Mirage."

As soon as she ran out of the room, Fayt socked Albel's shoulder. "Nice going. You didn't have to tell the whole world."

Albel shrugged. "I told you we don't have anything to be embarrassed about."

Fayt sighed. "You really have no shame, do you?"

"Nope," Albel said cheerfully. "Come closer and I'll give you something to be ashamed of."

Fayt started giggling, but he stopped and frowned as he heard a stampede of feet. Cliff rushed in, followed by everyone else in the group. "We just heard," he said breathlessly.

Albel scowled. "Why is everyone coming in here?"

"We wanted to-" Peppita began.

"Congratulate us?" Albel cut in. "If so, congratulations, thank you and good-bye. If not, well, I'm not going to let you watch us have sex so you can just clear out right now!"

"Actually," said Maria smoothly, "we just wanted to watch you sleep."

Albel scowled. "That sounds really boring."

"Trust us, it's not. You guys are really cute together."

Albel frowned. "I could care less, as long as it's okay with Fayt."

Everyone turned to Fayt breathlessly, their eyes wide with hope.

Fayt looked nervous. "Well, if no one makes fun of the way I sleep…I would be sad if someone watched me just so they could be mean and laugh at me later."

"Sophia, out," Albel growled.

Maria and Cliff pushed a protesting Sophia out the door and locked it.

"And as long as no one makes too much noise...i won't be able to sleep if I can tell that you're watching me."

Albel looked sharply at Maria and she looked back at him innocently and shrugged helplessly.

"Well, I suppose you all can stay," Albel said grudgingly.

"Yay!" Peppita cheered.

"Silence!" Albel growled. "We want to sleep."

Peppita looked down at the ground sheepishly.

Fayt yawned and nestled against Albel. Albel's eyes softened and he looked at the audience for once without malice. Albel turned his gaze back to Fayt. "I love you, fool."

Fayt stirred. "What did you say?"

"Nothing. It can wait until tomorrow. After all, we've got our whole lives together."

A/N: So much love..I'm going to cry…it's so beautiful. And that brings us to the end of the chapter except another lovely little poem…thank you to all my readers who stuck around for the end of this…my very firstest fiction I ever wrote…and it actually turned out nicely!