Summary: Sophia and Nel duke it out for the love of Albel but when they actually ask the swordsman himself, all competition comes to a grinding halt. How could they have been so BLIND?

Disclaimer: This authoress does not own Star Ocean Till the End of Time or any of the respective characters.

A/N: Very short one-shot that I hope you read AND review.

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"Albel is in love with me!"

"In love with an insipid twit like you? Stop deluding yourself Sophia, his heart belongs to me!"

"He hates you! He would rather kill you than kiss you!"

"Yes, we do have a rather passionate relationship…"

"Passion is NOT slaughtering your partner!"

"And what would you know about passion? A month of being with you and Albel will become as exciting as dry toast. For the love of Apris, you cook for fun on Saturday nights!"

Sophia did not even bother replying. With one high-pitched shriek of fury, she threw herself at the other woman. While she may have been meek and mild in reality, this was war.

A war in which the winner would claim the heart of Albel the Wicked.

Of course, Albel had not been consulted thus far but both women figured that he must be in love with at least one of them. The swordsman had been wandering around with a distinctly lovesick expression on his face for days. But the possibility of another woman did not even enter their infatuated brains.

According to their limited reasoning, it had to be one of them. Either that or it was Maria. And that was… no. When someone threatened to disembowel you and use the entrails as tinsel for the Christmas tree, it was pretty obvious they were not in love with you.

"Albel is in love with me!"

"You wish! At least I can be sensitive to his emotional needs and offer stability in his life. What can you offer him, a brawl every time he feels the need to let off some energy?"

"… That depends on what type of brawling you mean."

"YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO EVEN THINK OF TOUCHING MY MAN!"

Yes, Sophia could be very protective of her 'property' when she put her mind to it. Unfortunately, so could Nel.

So what was Cliff to do?

Well, firstly he watched them rolling around the floor, tearing and clawing at each other for about ten minutes. If there was one thing he loved, it was a good catfight.

Secondly, he decided that they were fighting for a lost cause. Cliff thought that it was a pretty safe bet the swordsman was asexual.

Thirdly… he supposed he had better stop them before they ripped each other to shreds over a man who wore a skirt and tight crop top.

It took him a good twenty minutes to separate them and by the time Maria had arrived to see what all the commotion was about, both had calmed down. A sharp dagger was sticking out of the back of Sophia's chair and a nasty fire spell had blasted out the wall behind Nel, but otherwise everything was just peachy according to Cliff.

"Yeah… right." Maria took one doubtful look at the two seething females.

"How can you two still be fighting over Albel?" Cliff asked, scratching his head. The Klausian was honestly confused as to why both women found the swordsman so devastatingly appealing, they would resort to bitchy catfights simply to lay claim to him.

"Because he is obviously head over heels for me and this witch refuses to see that!"

"How dare you call me a witch! ICE DAGGERS!"

Cliff ducked behind the sofa to avoid the barrage of frozen daggers and peeked out to stare hopelessly at Maria, who was still standing and watching the fight escalate. When she opened her mouth, he saw the look on her face and a thrill of horror rippled through him. "Maria, NO!"

"Why don't you just ask Albel who he loves?"

There was a stunned silence.

"… Well, it's obvious what the answer to that question is. He loves me, I can see it reflected in his gorgeous crimson eyes every day."

"You wish!" Nel hissed furiously. "I am his perfect match, his equal in battle. How could he not love me?"

"Ooh, we'll see about that." Sophia stalked out of the room, determined to hear Albel declare his everlasting love and devotion for her. Nel followed quickly, equally determined to hear how Albel agreed that the brunette was an insipid twit who did not deserve his affections. As the sound of their arguing faded, Cliff rose from behind the sofa.

"Maria, do you realize what you've done?"

"Yep."

The blonde was quiet for a few moments. "Do you realize we are going to be dead meat when they find out the truth?"

"Yep."

"Do you even care?"

Maria gave him a satisfied smile. "Nope."

Meanwhile, the two love-struck women arrived outside his room in a flurry of scratching nails and shrieking voices.

"When that door opens, you are going to realize you are fighting a losing battle, sister."

Nel sneered at the brunette, flicking a lock of scarlet hair over her shoulder. "You are the one is going to be crying buckets in a month when Albel and I get married. But don't worry, we'll be sure to send you an invite."

"Hah! Albel and I will be sure to invite you to stare enviously at our beautiful baby before the end of the year."

"Albel and I shall have six stunningly beautiful children, all mirror images of their gorgeous parents."

They were so involved in detailing their ridiculous fantasies that neither woman noticed when the door slid open.

"Do you mind? We're trying to sleep."

Sophia and Nel stared in horrified silence at the person standing in the doorway of Albel's room.

"FAYT?"

Fayt. Standing half naked. Wrapped in a sheet.

Nel stared past the bluenette boy and thought she would faint. Albel, gorgeous Albel who had been the object of her affection for months, was lying tangled up in a sleepy bundle on the bed.

He opened one crimson eye lazily and glared at her. "What are you maggots doing here? Get lost. And get back here now, Fayt."

Sophia was speechless and made little choking noises in her throat. Nel was making similar noises, her eyes wide with horror.

Fayt stared at the two and shrugged. "You heard him." Abruptly, he shut the door and the two women heard giggling noises and the thump of someone jumping on a mattress.

"Wait!" Sophia cried desperately. "Albel, I didn't get a chance to declare my undying love for you!"

Nel was still in shock at seeing the 'innocent' Fayt in bed with Albel but she stared morosely at her companion. "You… you were right, Sophia. You were actually right."

"Huh?"

"The minute that door opened, I did realize I was fighting a losing battle."

Sophia stared at the closed door. "I guess there isn't much we can do if Albel prefers men."

There was silence as the two contemplated their situation.

"Want some ice cream? We can raid Fayt's private supply of double fudge and mint chocolate chip."

"I need the comfort," the brunette sighed, linking arms with Nel. "And the satisfaction of stealing his ice cream."

"Me too."

"You know, we should have known Albel was gay. After all, what kind of straight man dresses like that?"

Nel nodded her agreement. "The skirt and crop top are a dead giveaway," she said thoughtfully. "It's a wonder we didn't see this before."

"Well, you know what they say… love is blind. Very blind."

"Indeed. But you have to admit, it was very obvious."

"Shut up. I'm still feeling humiliated."

As the sound of their voices faded into nothing, Fayt snuggled closer to Albel, who wrapped his arms possessively around the slim waist. "I guess ice cream is a small price to pay for you," he said teasingly.

The swordsman smirked. "Oh, I can give you something much better than ice cream."

Yes, ice cream was a very small price to pay for the love of Albel the Wicked…

If you were a man that is.