A.N. - Hello! Thanks for showing interest in my work in process fanfic! My first attempt at a multi-chapter story, let alone an [AU]. Some, but not all things are based off of personal events and surroundings. Please read and review! All constructive criticism and feedback welcomed! Arumat will be OOC. I'll try not to over do it too much.

Disclaimer: No, I don't own any of the Star Ocean characters, sadly.

May 8th, 2010. 4:54 AM

It was a Saturday morning and the stars shone brightly through out the midnight heavens. Each one of their lights were contributing to the beauty of the sky. The moon, overseer of the night, was half illuminated as it set through the heavens, giving way to its elder, the Sun. Most people who bothered to look up tonight, would have been astonished at what they saw. Yet, Edge Maverick wasn't like most people. He had had enough of the celestial sky for one night.

"I can't believe it's 4:54 in the morning... and I'm still at the office.." Edge muttered to himself. "Just to think I was planning on getting in and out of here as fast as I could tonight. Never works out that way.." He continued to converse alone while staring at the paperwork he had pushed himself through.

Edge Maverick, age twenty one, was head manager of a local observatory in the town of Lemuris. The nature of his job caused him to live in the shroud of the night for five days out of the week. He was proud to be in the position that he currently was in, but sometimes he would just have those moments. Moments where it seemed like it wasn't worth it to keep working the reverse nine to five he had been for two years now. The constant solitude wore him down at times.

"If I don't start getting home soon, I'll never get up for lunch with Reimi.." Edge said to the empty observation room. "Plus, I can't skip out. She said she needed to talk to me about something important." Edge sighed.

Reimi Saionji, age twenty, was Edge's childhood best friend and constant thought recently. They had grown up in the same town of Eara for all of their lives. Every Saturday afternoon, Reimi and Edge would sit down for lunch at the local diner named Carmella's. It started out the week that Edge began working his reverse nine to five. He had invited Reimi to the diner to share the news that he was promoted to run the nearby observatory. It had been a ritual ever since.

Deciding he had dwell enough on what he had to do, Edge began gathering his belongings that were scattered across his desk.

With laptop in one hand, and backpack slung over his shoulder, Edge exited the observatory and made his way to the parking lot at the base of the hill. Thoughts of lunch with Reimi had caused his mind to wander off about other things, all including Reimi.

Letting out a sigh as he opened the back seat of his car, Edge shook his head in an attempt to free his mind of his best friend. Throwing his laptop and backpack onto the seat, he slammed the door shut.

"She'd never look at me as anything else but a best friend. I need to do the same and convince myself that it's just... not going to happen." Edge mumbled to himself as he climbed into the driver seat. "But that's easier said then done. Besides, I'd have to get rid of Arumat first. And.. that's a whole other thing I'd rather not think about." Edge spat.

Turning the key in the ignition, Edge's ears were assaulted by The Foo Fighters via the stereo he so often forgot to turn down whenever he exited his car. Letting out a sigh, he spun the volume dial counter clockwise and tried to find something more suitable for a calm ride home. It was Friday, or rather Saturday morning, and Edge just wanted to get on with his weekend. He had had enough of work for this week.

"This should work." Edge said as he pressed the middle button on his iPod. The Foo Fighters disappeared and were then replaced by Attack! Attack! UK.

Thirty minutes later, Edge pulled into the driveway of the house he had recently inherited from his father's will. His father had been in a car accident two years ago just down the street from where they lived. His mother, which he never got a chance to know, had passed away shortly after his birth due to a health ailment.

Turning his car off, he grabbed his possessions out of the back seat, locked it, and made his way to his mailbox.

"How many people get their mail at 5:30 in the morning..." Edge sighed.

After skimming over his mail, and not noting anything of importance, Edge turned and headed for the front door. Upon walking in, he was greeted by his pet cat. Edge crouched down and ran his hand along the cat's back.

"Hey Meracle." Edge said in a playful tone. "Did you miss me while I was at work?"

Meracle purred up against Edge's leg, signaling that she did indeed miss him. She was a rare breed of cat called Felpool. Her eyes were an amazing shade of cerulean and her coat was a light beige. He had received her as a kitten three years ago from his father.

"You and that cat... I swear." A woman's voice came from in front of Edge.

Jumping up from the floor, Edge let out a yell. Meracle ran off into the corner to hide behind one of the planters.

"Jesus Christ, Reimi. A little more warning next time?" Edge said as he faced Reimi.

"I left you a note on your counter saying I let myself in." Reimi stated pointing into the kitchen. "But you were so loud coming in that I woke up and decided to just tell you I was here myself." Reimi teased.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you."" Edge said while rubbing the back of his neck. "Did you walk here...?" Edge asked.

"I always walk here, Edge. We're like, 400 feet away from one another." Reimi clarified.

Edge moved into his office room to put his laptop away and throw his mail onto his desk.

"So, what brings you to my place at this time of the night, Rei?" Edge asked.

"No particular reason, really" Reimi said nonchalantly. To her, it was a blatant lie, but she couldn't tell Edge what had happened. "How would he react..."she pondered to herself. "I just couldn't sleep and I wasn't sure when you were getting off of work. So when I got here I let myself in and passed out in your room." Reimi explained.

Edge walked out of the office and into the kitchen. While grabbing a glass of water, he looked over the note that Reimi had doodled.

"Dear bestest best. When you read this, don't bother coming in to your room. I've stolen it for the night. See you in the morning! XO Rei." Edge felt a smile press at his lips after reading the note.

"You couldn't sleep, so you came to the one guy's house within 50 miles that would still be awake?" Edge laughed. "See? Aren't I an amazing best friend? Offered you my house unknowingly because I'm the only soul alive at this time." He teased. "And whats up with you always stealing my bed! There's another room you know!" He finished.

"Your bed is so much more comfortable! And I'll agree to the amazing best friend part." Reimi chuckled while faking a smile. She hated lying to Edge, but he couldn't know why she really took his bed. Not until tomorrow. "But now that you're home, we should probably head to bed. Lunch tomorrow!" Reimi exclaimed, trying to shake off the guilt.

"Yeah yeah, I remembered. You said you had something important to tell me." Edge said while shaking his head.

"Yeah, I sure do..." Reimi thought to herself. "I guess I have to get it out sooner or later. I just.. I feel like I'll lose Edge over this..." Reimi sighed. His threat echoed in her head.

"Remembered? That's a blue moon occurrence right there." Reimi said while faking giggling.

"Cute.. making fun of me in my house and reminding of work on the weekend. That's two low bows in one swing." Edge complained.

"Sorry, sorry. I couldn't resist." Reimi said, her mind beginning to clear from what she had to explain later that day.

"Alright, let's get to bed then, shall we?" Edge said while he walked down the corridor to his bedroom.

"Yeah. And... Edge." Reimi said hesitantly.

"Whats up?" Edge questioned.

"Thanks." Reimi blurted out.

"For...?" Edge said with confusion plastered on his face.

"Just being a great guy, and an even better friend." Reimi said looking down; a faint blush forming on her face.

"Works both ways, Rei. Except... replace guy for girl." Edge chuckled.

Reimi looked up and smiled. "G'night Edge." she said, turning into Edge's bedroom.

"Good night, Reimi." Edge responded.

Flash back

May 8th, 2010 - 1:32 AM

"You're breaking up with me!" Arumat spat. The emotion in his voice was a mixture of disbelief, fear, frustration and anger.

"I saw you... with another woman, Matt." Reimi stated. No emotion was in her voice. She was trying to keep herself composed in front of her now ex-boyfriend. "Don't try to deny it. I've seen you with her on multiple occasions. Hugging and.. clinging to one another like you were a couple...." Reimi sobbed. She was beginning to break. "Last night was the final straw... I saw you kiss her." Reimi finally blurted out. Her tears were now flowing rapidly down her face. She clenched her fists in rage. Images of the mystery woman and Arumat locking lips flashed in her mind. "I never though you'd be so stupid as to cheat on me, after knowing what you did to Edge's life!." she threatened.

Arumat stepped right up to Reimi, raised his fist and was about to strike her in the stomach, but withheld. He may have been caught with another women, but he wasn't going to let his anger get the best of him. After all, he was at fault here. Striking Reimi out of anger of being caught cheating wouldn't help either of them. Reimi fell to the ground, prepared for the strike to come, but she never felt contact. Wrapping her arms around herself and crying, she couldn't believe she had gotten the courage to get in Aurmat's face about the other girl she's seen around. Reimi knew one thing for sure though. This wasn't the man that she had considered to be her boyfriend at one point in time.

"Get out of my house." Arumat said coldly. "I won't be accused of being a cheater and threatened under my own roof." venom dripped off of every word he spoke.

"Accused!" Reimi screamed. "I caught you in the open, Matt! Don't try and pull that with me." she finished.

Anger coursed through his veins but at the same time, he couldn't care less. So what if had been caught with his other girl? He was planning on getting rid of Reimi soon anyways to be with her. This only served to speed things up. But she knew the truth about what he had done. He couldn't let her go off and run her mouth "Don't you dare go spreading your rumor to Edge, or I'll make it worth my effort that you both end up tormented." Aruamat threatened.

"I've kept my mouth closed for so long, Matt! I didn't want to turn Edge's life upside down anymore than YOU already had." Reimi retorted to Arumat's threat. "He's my best friend..." she whispered.

"Then why choose me over him?" Arumat questioned.

"Sometimes, I wish I had." Reimi returned coldly. She turned around and headed for the door. She wasn't going to let him have the last word.

Once outside of the house, Reimi ran to her car, crying. She didn't dare turn back for any reason.

End of flash back

Reimi awoke in a cold sweat. Her sheets were scrambled across the bed.

"It was just a nightmare..." Reimi told herself. "He's not here... I'm at Edge's house. I'm safe." She continued while wrapping her arms around herself. A strong wave of nausea washed over her as memories of her and Arumat flooded her brain.

Any belongings of hers that were held in his house were now dead to her. Tainted by him, his lies, and by his cheating. For all she cared, he could give it to that damn slut that he had behind her back. Lastly, she disregarded his threats. Edge was going to know. He deserved to know everything after so long. She would make sure it was Arumat that would be tormented, not her. Not Edge.

Reimi looked over to the clock and saw that it read 10:30 AM. After her lunch with Edge, any gift she received from Arumat would be discarded. Any memory of them she would purge from her mind. She was going to start a new.