Albel's cheeks burned, the blush going straight to his ears and up through his scalp. He could swear he even felt every hair follicle stand on end.

"Wh-What are you doing...?" he sputtered, just barely holding back a 'worm.' He didn't call Sheena that anymore; it just sort of slipped out when he was totally stunned and incredulous.

She'd kissed him. She'd kissed ... him. In all this time they'd been together, they hadn't -- not that Albel hadn't thought about it, but it had never seemed the right time, and then Crystallis was having another crisis... It just hadn't happened. And now that it had, he couldn't help but feel flustered.