Disclaimer: These characters are not mine. They belong to Square/Enix.

"Competition"

We thought of it as friendly competition.

Well, I did anyway; I'm not sure about Albel.

Even after a year together, we still spar quite often. Albel is of the opinion that I am the only challenge left for him on Elicoor. I'm not sure if I agree, though the concept is both flattering and frightening. It flatters me because I am unorthodox and self-trained, yet it disturbs me because I am destruction incarnate.

Scarier still, he sometime wins. According to him, it's because I still hold back too much. Excuse me for not wanting to wipe him off the face of the planet just for the sake of a good fight.

First we clear out the monsters in our chosen battle field. Funny to think that there are still monsters around even though our reality is no longer a game. I guess they're indigenous life forms now….

This is only the beginning but never as intense as the fights we had with each other. We compete for the bigger kills and the last blows, yet we work in tandem, perfectly in sync with one another. As in many other areas of our relationship, we balance each other out in battle. We lend strength where there is weakness and we are doubly powerful where we are similar.

When everything is dead, we face each other down. Albel always grins that sadistic little grin of his. He knows that it unnerves me just a little bit, but the reasons are different now. We never plan who will start it off. Sometimes it depends on our moods or Albel's goading. I have to admit that I prefer it when I can put Albel on the defensive right away. He's not very good in that capacity and I can usually best him quickly that way. When he's on the defensive, he loses his temper more readily and makes stupid mistakes.

Of course it's much more fun when he strikes first.

Albel is not the only one who enjoys a good fight.

It is the afternoon and there's a slight breeze ruffling the blades of grass on the Palmira Plains. I hardly notice it as I block swift, powerful blows from The Crimson Scourge. Albel never holds back, doesn't even use a different blade for our sparring matches. He doesn't go for killing blows too often, thankfully, but he's still a formidable opponent.

Incidentally, Albel doesn't consider not trying to kill me to be an act of mercy. If he killed me, his fun would be lost, and he'd be lonely and bored once again.

I jump back with a harsh pant as he charges for his "hand of doom" attack. He growls as I parry and stop the deadly technique. I am caught in the belly by his sword but manage to get away with little more than a long slice to my shirt and armor.

Albel's eyes flash and I can see the sweat dotting his brow. It's hot today, nearing summer. I take his momentary frustration as an opening for attack. Side-stepping quickly, I aim a swift kick to his ribs.

He wavers slightly and glowers at me as he lets loose an air slash in my general direction. "You and that ridiculous kick," he scoffs derisively.

I catch part of the force of his attack as I try to evade it. Grinning, I cross swords with him, "Hey, it's fair."

Albel snorts and snarls, "Shockwave swirl!"

He swiftly sweeps The Crimson Scourge around him in a half circle. A small shockwave blasts me back and I stumble, falling before I can catch myself.

"Damn," I swear. I hate that attack because it almost always catches me off guard. He seldom uses it, you see.

Albel laughs as he lowers himself to straddle my waist, lightly putting his weight on my lower belly. "Give up?" he taunts.

I groan softly, slightly aroused by our position. Mustering all my strength, I arch my hips and topple him over. Sheathing my sword, I roll over to pin him with my body. "Yeah right," I scoff lightly, "Do you honestly think that I'd give up over a little shockwave?"

Albel grins wickedly and I feel his left arm snaking around the back of my neck. He draws me down and bruises my mouth with a passionate kiss.

I moan against his lips, my body reacting almost immediately to such an intimate touch. My fingers entwine in his hair as I seek to deepen the kiss, but he just bites my tongue only to suck on it and the blood that he'd drawn.

Our lips and tongues clash just as intensely as out swords had. This is just another competition, but wholly different from our sparring matches and arguments. I guess you could say it's because there's never a loser when it comes to this sort of game.

When our lips part, we're both panting and Albel's eyes are already fevered with lust. I cry out softly when he abruptly throws me off his body and gets up gracefully. He sheathes his sword in one fluid motion and favours me with sly, narrow eyes.

We didn't need words.

Heart hammering in my chest, breath strangling in my throat from the force of my anticipation, I follow him towards Peterny's city gates.

Finis.