Believe in Me, O Dancer Girl

by Aina Song

It was a secret he had protected for as long as he could remember. And, without even realizing it, she was a part of it.

3. For You

Title: Believe in Me, O Dancer Girl

By: Aina Song

Fandom(s): Star Ocean 3: Till the End of Time

Genre: Yaoi

Rating: NC-17

Warning(s): Language; Direct & Altered Quotes; Spoiler Alert; Slight OOC; Much Angst; Mention of past-NCS (Hell, where'd I put that Fluff? This one's gonna need some Fluff…)

Pairing(s): Albel(Peppita) x Fayt (Not the way it sounds, I swear!)

Reviews: Yes, please.

Author's Note: Standard Disclaimer. This story was not written for money.

Another Note: Hate me for this all you want, but in my own little world, Adray does not exist. Useless old coot in battle, and socially inadequate everywhere else. And, even after he joins the party, he's never included in any of the major movie scenes - you don't even see him hanging around in the background! *blows raspberry* Italics = dreams, sword telepathy, and flashbacks. Do tell.

Teaser: It was a secret he had protected for as long as he could remember. And, without even realizing it, she was a part of it.

Chapter Three - For You

Mackwell stared for several long minutes, dark red eyes wide with disbelief. "A daughter. Her daughter?"

"I think so."

"Why didn't you tell me this sooner? Why are we only speaking of this now?"

"It isn't proven yet," Albel muttered, dropping his elbows to his knees and dragging the fingers of his good hand through his hair. "But she looks so much like Elayne; the golden skin, the delicate frame. Her eyes… She has her love for bells and the unpredictable… And the way she dances…"

The other sucked in a quick breath.

He nodded, "I should've caught it before now. She dances, Mackwell. Her routines are varied, and she often twists them to fit her fighting style. But there's something in the way she moves that is unmistakably Elayne."

"You've developed a soft spot for her."

"It never occurred to me to fight it," he confessed at last. "She gets to me, without even trying. But then the nightmares started coming back, and I couldn't help but realize."

"It could be true," Mackwell slowly agreed. "Father never told us why Elayne suddenly disappeared like that, though you and I always had our suspicions. This would mean…"

"A sister for you," Albel whispered. "A half-sister for me."

"Albel, I never looked on you as anything less than a true brother. Bloodlines and circumstance notwithstanding, that has and will never change. Do you doubt me?"

The dark warrior turned his head until his fiery gaze fell upon the other's right hand. The knuckles on the back of that hand were slightly more pronounced than those of the left. Of its own accord, his mind recalled when Mackwell had nearly broken every one of those knuckles in a desperate act to protect him. They had been only children, then. It had been the first of a seemingly endless number of times his elder brother had looked out for him while he had been still too young and too weak to do it himself.

"No," Albel gruffly answered. "I do not doubt you."

He could hear the other take a careful breath. "Albel… What is her name?"

~o~

The morning had long begun as he crept again through the streets of Peterny. He knew he had arrived with plenty of time, as most of their party preferred to sleep in when they could get away with it. However, Albel reminded himself as he slipped behind the inn and found his window, that did not include Peppita, who unerringly rose with the sun. He pressed up against the side of the building, testing the window only to find it locked. Turning his head that he might gaze into his room, he glimpsed the dancer girl sitting upon the extra bed, his note clasped securely in both her hands. He let his eyes take in the sight of her, recalling Mackwell's last words to him before he left:

"If she's traveling with you, she must have some skill. Yet indulge me this once. Watch over her. There are many things we three must discuss one day, but I understand your quest comes first. I shall await the both of you."

It was a promise he had already sworn in his heart, though he was only now beginning to realize it. Shaking his head, he lifted his good hand and quietly rapped the back of his knuckles against the window glass. Her eyes turned sharply in his direction, the flash of alarm in her silvery blue eyes quickly giving way to relief and a welcoming smile. Standing, she crossed to the window, unlatching it for him and standing back to let him in.

The climb through the window was a small hurdle he cleared with little trouble, and he set the latch in place once more after he'd done. Almost before he could turn around, he suddenly found himself caught within a tight circle of arms around his waist, and a head of soft white hair pressed against his lower ribs. That sudden tightness from before wrapped warmly about his heart once again, and this time he did not question its purpose. Slowly, hesitantly, he let his good arm curl around her shoulders, and he carefully returned the embrace. "I didn't want to wake you…"

"I know I had no right to worry," she whispered. "You're strong, and clever, and can take care of yourself. But when I saw that you'd gone, after what happened-"

"I'm sorry you had to see that." Albel gently tugged her away, waiting until her gaze lifted to meet his. "I did mention that the hurt returns. My mistake was in neglecting to warn you that when at its strongest, I could be forced into unconsciousness in attempt to block it out."

Her beautiful eyes grew wide, "It's happened before?"

"Rarely. But… yes."

She fell into a stunned silence. He quietly led her to sit with him upon one of the beds, so that their great difference in height could be ignored for the moment. "Your symbology pushed the pain back, away from my stomach and lungs. So it was not so bad this time, and I awoke sooner than usual. And my arm… Thank you, angel."

The smile that touched her lips was a small one, timid happiness flushing her cheeks with a faint rosy shade.

"I can't ignore what you tried to do for me," he softly added. "But I must ask you to swear to me that you'll never try it again. Another attempt - that last attempt, could have driven you into a coma."

That swiftly chased her smile away. And now her eyes were filling with tears, "You're angry with me…"

"No," he shook his head. "I'm afraid for you. Not because you are the youngest; not because I agree with those other fools that you cannot defend yourself as well as they do. I've seen that you can, and I've seen that you're quick-witted enough to withdraw when the threat is too great."

"Then, why?"

"Because you're my-" But as he met her wondering gaze, the word stuck in his throat. He knew the truth; he would not have ventured alone at night to share his suspicions with Mackwell if he did not believe it so. But when it came to confessing it to this dancer girl, who so strongly believed her father had been some valiant soldier, he found himself unable.

"Friend?" She offered, her smile making a hesitant return.

He glanced away, knowing himself a coward just then for accepting her attempt to fill in the blank instead of doing so himself. "Yes."

Her surprised giggle filled his ears. "Don't worry," she whispered, teasingly. "I won't tell anyone. If they're too dense to figure it out on their own, then it's none of their business."

Her good mood was suddenly infectious, and he could not contain the amusement that curled the corner of his mouth.

~o~

Their small number had voted to find their breakfasts in the center plaza. Upon their insistence, Peppita sat at a table with Sophia and Maria, which left Albel the very opportunity he needed. Roughly tapping Fayt's shoulder to get the other's attention, he motioned with his head for the young leader to follow for a private word. He led into the chapel, where they were spared from prying ears, and he checked that they were not followed by that overprotective Cliff before closing the door.

Fayt glanced around, finding the chapel was empty, then settled his gaze upon the dark warrior. "All right, Albel, you got me in here. What is it?"

He frowned, finding something unsettling with the other's tone. Then he realized. "You're still pissed at me."

"I'm not," argued Fayt, crossing his arms over his chest and glancing away. "I just… seem to keep overestimating our friendship-"

"Friendship?"

His spine tensed, and Fayt turned his head more to the side. "You asked me once if I hated you. Everything I told you that night… It was the truth. I trust you." Abruptly, he turned back around, uncrossing his arms with a frustrated sigh. "I'd like to consider you my friend, but you keep pushing me away."

Albel scoffed, "Still the dreamer, I see."

"Maybe," the blue-haired youth shrugged. "You'd think after seeing the way you treat the others, one would learn to back off. But then I saw the way you were slowly warming to Peppita. I guess I'm just… waiting my turn."

Albel narrowed his fiery red eyes as he swiftly stalked closer, effectively forcing the other to back away toward a wall. "You have those other fools. Aren't they enough for you?" Fayt's back hit the wall, and Albel threw his hand and clawed gauntlet to either side of the younger warrior, pinning him there. "I'm only sticking around for the hunt; I never claimed to like any of you. And I thought I made it clear to you once already that I have no place in your happy little world!"

Those piercing green eyes were now wide and wary, as though discovering the wolf beneath the sheep's clothing. It was not a look that befitted the blue-haired leader. Clenching his jaw, Albel shifted forward until the length of his body was nearly pressing up against the other's, then caught Fayt's mouth with his own. The younger man seemed frozen in place with shock, and Albel found himself preferring a more active response. Tilting his head, he sucked at the other's lower lip and lightly bit down. Those lips parted with a sharp gasp, and he smoothly let his tongue slip between them to explore the wet cavern beyond. After another moment, a hand smoothed up the front of his small tank top to grasp the broken chain of his collar, and finally Fayt's mouth was moving against his own to return the favor. Albel growled his approval, and their tongues danced in a war for dominance that neither seemed willing to lose.

When at last Albel released that mouth, he knew he was facing addiction. Fayt's fierce green eyes were half-lidded and glazed over, and his finely carved lips were bruised red from their kiss. It was all Albel could do at that moment not to jerk the blue-haired youth against him and devour that mouth a second time. Eyes narrowing, fist at his side, he slowly backed away and put some distance between them.

"Why?"

He looked up, finding Fayt watching him with a carefully withdrawn expression that Albel knew well. That look had been directed at him before, when first they met on the arena of the Kirlsa training facility, and once more when they encountered each other again. Then had come the night Albel had roused him from his bed and asked that fateful question. And then that look had vanished, replaced by one of open trust.

Albel silently wondered at the sickly sinking weight in his chest at its return.

"Why?" Fayt quietly demanded, slowly stepping away from the wall. "After all that, why would you…?"

The dark warrior scowled, saying nothing.

Something flashed within those green orbs, and Fayt glanced aside. "Was it punishment?"

To that, Albel found he must answer. "No."

The blue-haired swordsman took a visible breath, and that look had gone. Nodding, Fayt met his gaze once more. "Why did you bring me here, Albel? Was there something you wanted to tell me?"

He accepted the change of discussion for what it was. "We're nearing another turn in the hunt. I know you feel it too. It's in the very taste of the air about us; it's the static charge beneath our fingertips, almost as if lying just beyond our reach."

Fayt nodded, understanding. "What do you suggest?"

"I need to return to Airyglyph," he confessed. "I'd prefer not to fail against our enemy. Promises have been made, promises I dare not break, so near as we are to the end. But I realize I am lacking. There is a power, my heirloom, that until now I have been reluctant to claim. I have no right anymore to give in to that fear."

"I didn't know 'fear' was even in your vocabulary," the young leader commented, with not a drop of sarcasm. "And what do you mean, 'lacking'? I was told you were the best."

"The best, eh?" Albel asked, his mouth pulling in a teasing sneer.

Fayt answered that smirk with one of his own. "Well… at the time it was said, it was also meant to describe you as a danger and a threat, but you get the idea."

"All the more reason for me to return to Airyglyph. As the best, I would prove a better asset to you were I at my best. And for that, I need to do this first."

"To gain the power you didn't want." The other sighed, "Do you want us to come with you, or should you go alone?"

It was Albel's turn this time to be caught off-guard. "What?"

"This is important, right? Or else you wouldn't bother to ask." Waving idly toward the chapel doors, Fayt added, "If you don't want the others in on this, they won't be. But judging from the way you are with Peppita, I thought I'd make the offer."

"Offer," the dark warrior repeated under his breath. Somehow, it lacked the taste of insult he would usually suspect if it had been spoken by Cliff or Maria. Perhaps it was not so terrible a word after all. He nodded, coming to a decision. "The girl has grown somewhat attached to me. But once in Airyglyph, I will be distracted. All of my attention must be given to what I must do, if I am to succeed. It… unsettles me, how deeply I will fall into this before it is done. And if something were to happen…"

"Albel," Fayt quietly spoke, moving to stand close enough to touch. "It can just be the three of us. I don't understand most of what you're saying right now, but the fact that you even tried to explain that much tells me you're worried. We'll go together. And when the time comes, I'll look after Peppita for you."