Title: Heaven Beside You

Chapter One: If Friends Were Flowers I'd Pick You

Disclaimer: I don't own Star Ocean.

A/N: This is my first fanfic attempt, so please be gentle, I bruise easily.

In the months following the defeat of Luther, Fayt had been searching for a place to call home. Earth was gone, along with his old life and so much had happened to him that it just seemed unfeasible to try and return to school as if nothing had happened. People would recognize him, the government feared him and there were those who would gladly try to use him if given the opportunity. Eventually he had decided to return to Elicoor. He knew the people there and they were, for the most part, friendly to him. In fact, the planet reminded him very much of the world he had lost so acclimatizing had not been a problem.

At first he had stayed in Aquios for a while, enjoying the calm serenity of the Holy City. The air was pure there, and the water was clean and fresh. It was truly a wonderful place, but something had begun to bother him the longer he stayed. He knew that the peaceful city was beginning to dull his heightened senses as he was overtaken and consumed by complacency. There was no driving purpose behind him which required action and, at least in the beginning, he had welcomed the newfound peace and tranquillity. He had no responsibilities, no one was demanding anything from him and he was allowed to come and go as he pleased without restrictions. But eventually he had become restless. The city was not blissfully calm as he had once believed but stagnant, and the inactivity was slowly killing his ambition.

Unable to stay in the claustrophobic city any longer, Fayt had left on a journey. It eventually led him back to the land of Airyglyph, and back to Albel the Wicked. The Black Brigade commander was not one to remain inactive so Fayt looked forward to the refreshing change of pace life in Airyglyph would offer him.

In order to keep busy, he had decided to started patrolling with Albel and it could be said that the other man tolerated him as one would tolerate a benign tumour. Albel was resistant at first, but eventually Fayt began to grow on him and he adapted quickly.

During their previous travels together, Albel had started to grow close to the young leader, perhaps even becoming fond of him in his own way, but by the time they fought Luther, nothing had come of his affections. After Luther's defeat they had gone their separate ways and Albel had almost forgotten his feelings. But now Fayt was back, and Albel wasn't sure how to react to his sudden reappearance. Why exactly had Fayt come back to him? Was it just as the boy claimed and he had returned due to sheer boredom? Or was there something else driving him, something that neither of them would realize until they were forced to acknowledge it? Whatever the case, their current relationship had fallen into familiar patterns and for the moment both were comfortable with how things were proceeding.

It was still early in the morning and the sun had not yet risen in the sky when Fayt was rudely awakened by someone prodding him forcefully in the side with the hilt of a sword. Albel's voice broke the peaceful calm of morning with a not so gentle reminder."Wake up fool. We have work to do."

Disgruntled and moody, Fayt made a feeble attempt to bat the sword away with his hand before turning over and pulling the bed sheets up around his neck. When Albel continued to prod him, this time with the blade unsheathed, Fayt gave up and half opened his eyes to glare at his assailant. Slowly, Fayt began to rouse but his movements were sleepy and sheepish. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Fayt wondered what time it was exactly and silently lamented Elicoor's lack of clocks. Looking dazedly around the room, the blue-haired boy spotted Albel who had moved away from the bed and was now staring thoughtfully out the window of the Kirlsa mansion's guest bedroom. Fayt was tempted to fling a pillow at his turned back but decided against it. Albel was not known for his sense of humour and Fayt was just too tired to start something like that this early in the morning. After all, he wanted to live long enough to see the sun rise at the very least.

Through tired eyes Fayt examined his companion in the soft glow of candlelight which illuminated his room as if it was the first time he had ever bothered to look at him that closely. Albel, as usual, was dressed in his trademark outfit. There was the form fitting mauve top which left little to the imagination, loose billowing skirt, slit up the side to allow ample movement . . . and to give any interested viewers a delicious view of Albel's shapely legs which were covered, for the most part, in the same dark purple fabric. Left exposed were Albel's firm muscular thighs, for aesthetic purposes Fayt supposed, or else he would have worn pants.

Next Fayt admired the other man's jet black and gold tipped hair. It shone with health, unlike most of the planet's other inhabitants, and was also immaculately clean. Cascading down his shoulders were two long braids, ending in gold highlights, which bound and kept the long hair in check as well as providing a perfect juxtaposition for Albel's graceful, inward curving spine. To top everything off, Albel had those beautifully expressive ruby-red eyes which were currently piercing him with a furious glare of annoyance.

"What do you think you're looking at, maggot?"

Fayt simply smiled and met his companion's eyes with a wry stare of his own. "You haven't changed a bit Albel," he chuckled softly.

"What's that supposed to mean, fool? I haven't changed . . . were you expecting something different? Do I disappoint you?"

Fayt shook his head quickly so Albel would not go ballistic on him. "No Albel, it's nothing like that. I'm just happy to see you again. So much has changed in my life . . . " Pain flittered across his features briefly, as memories offered to escort him into despair, but he rallied against it and continued. "What I mean, is that it is nice to know that some things have stayed the same, despite what has happened. It's kind of comforting, don't you think?"

"Useless sentimentality," Albel scoffed bitterly. "Whether things change or stay the same, it doesn't matter. All we can do is go forward and make the best of our current situation."

"You're absolutely right, as always Albel."

"While we're on the subject, Fayt, you haven't changed that much either, you know . . . " As he said this, Albel strode across the room to stand beside the bed and gazed down at his young guest.

"Oh? How's that?" Even though they were so close together, Fayt could not quite discern what it was he saw in the other man's eyes. Holding his breath in anticipation, Fayt imagined that maybe Albel was going to admit that he actually liked what he saw. Perhaps Albel would finally approve of him and accept him completely. It was unlikely, but he would still love to see it happen. Fayt's hopes were dashed though as the other man finished his thought.

"No Fayt," he said, shaking his head disgustedly, "you haven't change a bit . . . You're still a lazy maggot who won't get out of bed when you're told!" To emphasize this point, Albel slid both hands under Fayt, who was still lying in bed, half covered by blankets and flipped him out unceremoniously onto the hard wooden floor.

"Well that was unnecessary," Fayt muttered sulkily as he staggered to his feet and brushed himself off. At least he had recovered quickly.

As Albel watched him, his eyes glittered with amusement and his face twitched as a restrained smirk tugged at the corners of his mouth. "It got you out of bed, didn't it?" Albel asked him as his smirk blossomed into a full blown wicked grin. "Now that you are up, get dressed and we'll be on our way. You can dress yourself, right? Or would you like me to do that for you as well?"

Ignoring Albel's taunts, Fayt quickly pulled on his pants and shirt vest, not caring that his companion was watching him a little too closely as he dressed.

"Ready to go now, fool?"

As if I have a choice. Fayt sighed and glanced moodily toward Albel. "Can we at least have breakfast first?" he asked hopefully.

Albel mulled the question over in his head for several moments. Eating would take time and he was anxious to leave, but if Fayt was truly hungry, he would be absolutely useless if anything happened. Eventually he nodded with approval. "Fine. If the little worm is hungry then by all means it must be fed," he said with more than a hint of sarcasm. "Follow me, fool . . ."

Together they left the guest bedroom and headed down to the basement and into the storage cellar. Albel moved swiftly toward a dimly lit corner and removed two pieces of fruit from a dank looking barrel. "Here," he said, thrusting one of the presumed apples toward Fayt who accepted it with suspicion.

"What's this?" The Embodiment of Destruction inquired innocently.

"An apple," the Wicked One replied, looking at Fayt like he had just said the dumbest thing imaginable. His gaze was a mix of disdain and concern, wondering whether hitting the floor had damaged the boy's brain or if he was just plain stupid.

Fayt regarded the shrivelled fruit he held in his hands and considered what Albel had told him. He supposed that it had been an apple at some point in its existence, but after an indeterminate time in storage it had lost all the characteristics which would readily identify it as a bonafide apple. The small fruit seemed to heave a depressed sigh as Fayt examined it further. It was wilted, a bit soft and its skin was dull brown in colour as opposed to the usual glossy red and he wondered if it was even edible.

"So this is what you consider breakfast," he muttered weakly. "No wonder you're so thin Albel . . ." He immediately regretted his comments when he saw a flicker of sadness and doubt in Albel's eyes. He had been hurt by Fayt's words. But the other man's visage cleared quickly, switching from being upset to the more familiar offended in the span of several seconds.

"I suppose it's a little different from what those Aquarian dogs have been feeding you," he said, every word smothered in scorn and disgust. "But it's all we have."

It was true. In Aquios, Fayt had been well fed every day. The harvest had been superb and food, as always, was plentiful. Meanwhile, people were starving in Airyglyph. Though food was abundant, Aquaria had not offered to share and Airyglyph had been too proud to ask. The war had been over for a while now, but tensions were still high and trust was not easily given.

"I'm sorry Albel, I meant no disrespect," he said sincerely.

But Albel just shrugged and shook his head wearily. "You have nothing to apologize for except stating the obvious. It's no secret that we don't have it as good as they do, just a fact of life. Besides, Woltar insists that we give what little we do have to the spineless maggots in town who either cannot or will not feed themselves." Suddenly Albel's eyes blazed passionately, and filled with pride. "Irregardless, I'll not have people say that I wasn't able to feed you properly. So here, have mine," he said fiercely while holding out the second apple, waiting patiently for Fayt to take it.

"It's all right Albel. I'll be fine, really. You need to eat too."

"Never mind that fool, I've already eaten while you were still sleeping."

He's lying . . . but if I call his bluff, he'll hate me for it . . . Fayt knew that eating the apples would most likely make him sick, but if he had complained, or attempted to explain to Albel that it wasn't the quantity but the quality which was the problem it would severely damage their already tenuous friendship. So Fayt reached out and gently took the proffered apple. "Thank you," he said, making sure that he sounded properly grateful and beholden. Looking into his caretaker's eyes, Fayt was duly rewarded. Albel's eyes sparkled with something close to happiness. Perhaps it was still pride, or even satisfaction, but it could just as easily have been an illusion since it had quickly faded. Feeling the need to give his friend something more to gloat about, Fayt spoke again. "You make me feel like a dependant weakling you know . . . "

"That's because you are weak, at least compared to me," his companion replied mercilessly. "Still, on your own you are quite strong. If you weren't, I never would have . . ." Albel's voice trailed off but his mind finished the thought silently. I never would have let you come near me.

"Albel?"

"Forget it. It's nothing. Eat!" he said with authority, gesturing toward the untouched apples. "And don't let anyone say I couldn't provide for you. It's not that I care, but I have a reputation to uphold."

"I thought your reputation was being Albel the Wicked, not Albel the Generous. If you really want to uphold your precious reputation, you should let me starve. Unless, of course, you do care and just don't want to admit it."

"Shut up, worm! Those apples won't eat themselves. Why do you hesitate?"

Reluctantly, Fayt bit into the first apple and chewed it thoughtfully as they started walking out of the mansion and into town. Suddenly it occurred to him that Albel had not said where they were going. Swallowing quickly, Fayt dared to ask. "Exactly where are we heading? We don't usually need to leave this early in the morning for a regular patrol, so what's up?"

Albel's eyes brightened in response to the boy's interest and he spoke with barely contained excitement, at least as much excitement as he was capable of. "There have been reports of a strange and very powerful monster attacking villagers near the Mountains of Barr. It is our job to find, and defeat the beast before it can do any more damage."

"You're looking forward to this aren't you?" Fayt spluttered incredulously, nearly choking. It wasn't a question, more like a resigned statement as Fayt shook his head helplessly. Only Albel would find pleasure in waking up at the crack of dawn to kill a rampaging beast which was probably dangerous if not deadly.

"Hopefully it will present some small challenge. Of course with you here we should be unbeatable . . . if you don't slow me down that is."

Fayt gawked at him. Was that really praise he had heard? Sure it had ended with something a little less than kind, but he was willing to take what he could get. "Do you mean that?"

". . . Yes Fayt, you are indispensable. You will be the perfect bait for this monster. Then, while you distract it with prattling, or swinging your sword wildly as you normally would, I'll go in for the kill."

"Bait . . ." His heart sunk to the soles of his feet where it was promptly stomped on. "You're kidding right? You wouldn't really . . . ?" Fayt couldn't finish. He was too afraid of what the answer might be.

"Hmph. You do smell quite tempting. Sweet even, like apples. Surely that will peak the monster's interest."

"That's low, even for you." Fayt grumbled, shooting his friend a disgusted look. I should have seen that one coming . . . Ignoring the amused chuckle which came from his companion, Fayt turned his attention toward the second apple. Once he was done eating, Fayt had yet another question. "So . . . is there a dragon knight around here somewhere waiting to take us to the base of the mountain?"

"We're not walking the whole way, are we?"

Albel turned on him. "And what if we are?" he demanded angrily. "Do you have a problem with that, worm?"

Fayt crossed his arms and levelled an annoyed glare at the other man. He had only asked a simple question, Albel didn't have to overreact. "It just doesn't make sense, that's all. If we walk, that uses a lot of energy, energy we can't afford to waste especially if you want to fight a monster at the end of everything."

Damned flawless logic . . . "Look, we don't have to rely on those dragon bastards for anything, got it? They are inferior and so asking for their help is a clear sign of weakness. I only accepted their assistance that time with Crosell because of your pathetic friends. Ordinarily I can get by on my own."

"What have you got against them? If they are inferior, then you should exploit them to suit your own needs. Is it because of how Vox trained them or something else? Now that I think about it, how come you don't have a dragon Albel? Shouldn't someone with your strength have one too? Especially since you are clearly superior to the current dragon knights . . ."

Albel was trembling with . . . something. He didn't know if it was rage at Fayt's words or the fear of being forced to answer his questions and admit that he had failed the Accession of the Flame ceremony long ago. But Fayt was not finished and his questions continued to get even closer to Albel's private shame.

" . . . or are there certain requirements or something, like you have to be the son of a dragon knight to even have the opportunity?"

I was the son of a dragon knight . . .

"I've heard people talk about a certain ceremony and if you pass the test you'll get a dragon partner. Does that mean anyone can try, and when it's over you get a dragon?"

Not everyone finishes . . . some die. I should have died . . .

"Er, Albel? You haven't said a word or even made an attempt to answer any of my questions . . . Is something wrong?" Sensing the sudden tension, Fayt became quiet.

You mean besides the fact that you are listing my broken dreams? Looking away in an effort to hide his inner struggle Albel rebuked him. "It's none of your business fool. Just drop it."

"Okay . . . so we walk." Knowing he should at least try to make amends, Fayt continued. "I have faith in your judgement Albel. You wouldn't lead me astray."

"Hmph, that kind of mindless obedience will get you killed some day. Such trust should not be awarded lightly." Albel made an attempt to sound scornful of Fayt's optimism, but in truth the boy's complete confidence in him and his abilities had helped to chase away the pain of his childhood failure.

So if I question him he gets angry, and if I agree with him he gets angry . . . This is hopeless but I suppose it can't hurt to play along. "I wouldn't trust you if I didn't think you deserved it, believe me. When we were travelling together you proved your worth a thousand times over. Besides, I'm a guest here and you know this planet better than I ever will so I have no choice but to accept your decisions.

"No Fayt, you're wrong," Albel said seriously for once. "There are always choices in life and often people make the wrong ones. For example, how do you know that staying with me and following my orders will not lead to your death?"

Shrugging, Fayt answered him honestly. "I don't know, and that is what makes life interesting. If we knew how everything would end, we would most likely spend our entire lives trying to avoid that inevitability and miss a lot in the process. This situation is kind of like the old saying, it's the journey that is important, not the destination. If I am to die as a result of being here with you, than I will make sure our time together is well worth dying for."

"You say that now, but that is only because you know nothing of death." Albel snapped without thinking before growling with impatience. "But I tire of this conversation . . ." Albel stalked away impatiently and entered the Kirlsa Caverns. It was the fastest route for their purposes and he welcomed the darkness of the underground passageways which would hide his reaction to Fayt's words.

Fayt's views had been unnerving to say the least, and Albel was finding it harder and harder to ignore him and dismiss the boy's ideals as mere ignorance. Fayt truly believed in everything he said and it was not due to a lack of experience either, as Albel had suggested. The boy was well acquainted with the concept of death and he supposed that Fayt would sacrifice his life for just about anything or anyone if he felt it was necessary. While some people would find this type of dedication noble or even admirable, Albel found it disgusting. Only a fool would give their life for another, or risk death just so they could remain with someone. His father had been a fool, and so had Fayt's for that matter. They owed their lives to the deaths of others. It was almost as if they belonged together . . .

I wonder if he feels the same way . . . Sickened by the fact that he is only alive because someone died in his place. Albel thought this to himself while glancing over his shoulder at the oblivious Fayt. We shouldn't be alive and yet here we are . . .

Albel shook his head to clear it. He was thinking too much. They had both been given a second chance thanks to the idiocy of their parents and he was not going to waste his time with useless thoughts.

"Come on Albel! The haulers are this way!" Fayt's voice shattered Albel's concentration and his mind returned to consider their current situation. Apparently, Albel had been so preoccupied that without realizing it he had started walking down the wrong tunnel and he hastened to retrace his steps. Fuming, he approached Fayt and shot him a disgusted look which was the byproduct of fierce embarrassment and the necessity to deny such a thing even existed.

"I know that fool! Think before you speak!" he snapped harshly as he stormed past the boy. Deep thoughts always ruined his mood and right now, Fayt was the only one he could lash out against. Fortunately, Fayt was used to the other man's mood swings and the words washed over him harmlessly. It's going to be one of those days . . .

A/N: Congratulations on making it to the end! I hope that someone found that entertaining. If you are that someone, please review.Chapter2 is basically finished aswell,so it'll be updatedas soon as I get around to it.