A/N: So, a ToV fanfic which isn't related to 'Knife to meet you'! This was a really random one that popped into my head one day, and I decided to write it. It's a little confusing, but I hope you enjoy all the same!

Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of Vesperia. It belongs to Namco Bandai (but I do have a game at last!)

Yuri knew there was a lot of confusion about his relationship with Flynn. They fought a lot, and yet they were so close, it was impossible to seperate them. Sodia learned that when she tried to kill Yuri, and Flynn nearly leapt after him in his desperate attempt to save him, disregarding his own life.

If you met them for the first time when they were bickering, you would immediately assume they hated each other. Their arguments usually ended in fights, most of which Flynn won, and they'd go home nursing bloody bruises and injured prides.

If you met them for the first time when they were happily conversing, you would assume they were the best of friends. Generally their playful jabs may end in a friendly punch or two, but it never got serious until they truly insulted each other or got onto a sensitive topic.

The people who did know them - and knew them well - couldn't understand how they kept up such a close relationship when they fought so much. There wasn't even a fall-out-make-up part of the fight; they just hit each for a while, and then they were fine.

And then there was the other side of their relationship. The soft, tender side that nobody but them really knew or understood. The times when they went looking for each other, looking for comfort and understanding, a lightening of burdens that they could not bear alone.

It was this part which triggered the rumour.

"Do you think Yuri and Flynn are interested in each other?" Estelle asked Rita one day, tilting her head.

Rita looked confused. "What do you mean?"

"Well..I went to Flynn's office the other day, but when I walked in Yuri was already there and they were sitting next to each other, with their foreheads against each other. They were staring really deeply into each other's eyes and whispering...I don't think they noticed me, so I left," she explained.

Rita blinked then gave a sly smile. "Oh hoh. So our faithful knight and badass boy are in a relationship, huh?" she said, rubbing her chin as all sorts of mischief came to her mind.

"Uh, um, Rita, I'm not sure that's quite right..." Estelle said awkwardly.

"It totally is! 'They were staring deeply into each other's eyes and whispering'...That's definately a love relationship, right there!"

Estelle looked around nervously, then smiled in relief. "Look, there's Yuri. Why don't we just ask him?"

The two girls hurried over to him, Rita catching his arm. "Hey, Yuri! We want to ask you a question," she said, grinning.

Yuri gazed at them uncertainly. "Okay..." he replied hesitantly, eyeing them.

"Do you love Flynn?" asked Estelle.

Yuri blinked then nodded. "Of course I do."

The two girls stared then went red, Estelle kneeling on the floor and starting incoherent babbling while Rita stared at him, her jaw hanging.

"What?" Yuri asked, confused.

"Y-You just...totally confessed without any embarrassment.." she mumbled.

"Yuri!"

Yuri turned, smiling as he caught sight of Flynn. "Hey Flynn," he greeted.

"I'm sorry I'm late, there was more paperwork than I expected," the blonde knight apologised, then raised an eyebrow as he spotted the girls. "Lady Estelle, Miss Mordio, to what do we owe this pleasure?" he asked.

Rita turned on him. "Do you love Yuri?" she asked.

Flynn hesitated very briefly, then nodded. "Of course."

While Rita's jaw hung even lower, Estelle suddenly leapt forward, hugging them.

"You two are perfect for each other!" she cried happily, squeezing them.

"E-Estelle...can't...breath..." Yuri panted.

"Oh! Sorry," she apologised, letting them go and awkwardly dusting her skirt off.

Flynn sighed. "Why are you two acting so strange about this?" Flynn asked.

"I just thought you'd be a little more hesitant about proclaiming your preferred sexuality to the world, but, y'know, should have expected this.." Rita murmured.

They blinked, then Flynn went red while Yuri burst out laughing.

"W-Wait...you think...me and Flynn...Oh-Oh god.."

Estelle looked at Yuri in confusion, while Flynn coughed.

"What Yuri is trying to say, is that we are not interested in each other. We merely have a close enough relationship to easily claim it is love."

"I don't understand. Why would you two be close enough to do that?" Estelle asked, frowning.

Yuri ran a hand through his hair, calming himself. "Comes from living together for as long as you remember."

"Come to think of it, we don't really know much about that. Why have you two been together for so long?" Rita asked.

Flynn shrugged. "Yuri lived with me for a while when we were a lot younger. Since birth, almost. He was an orphan, so my parents took him in, and we just bonded. When my dad died and we had to move to the Lower Quater, Yuri went with us. Then mum died, so we both had to figure out how to live by ourselves."

"Back then, people didn't really like us, so we had to try and provide for ourselves. It was pretty difficult, and we went through a lot of rough times. When it came down to it, we did everything together. Eventually, our bond was..just at the point that we didn't care anymore," Yuri continued.

"When we finally managed to join the knights, things got a little rocky. We had people caring about us, and us caring about them in return, and that was...difficult. For us, it had only been us, so accepting others into our hearts was strange. That led to a lot more arguments than normal, but...we worked through them. And our bond is still as strong," Flynn finished.

"But...you're better at that now, aren't you? After all, you and I, Flynn..." Estelle murmured.

Flynn hesitated, then closed his eyes. "You hold a very special place in my heart, Lady Estelle. I will happily admit that I would do anything for you. However...I hope you can understand that it will take much longer than it has already been to truly trust and open our hearts to people." He opened his eyes again, looking at her apologetically. "I'm sorry if...that offends you, Lady Estelle."

Estelle shook her head, smiling. "It's alright, I...think I understand, a little. I'll just wait until I'm just as special to you as Yuri is," she replied.

The two boys blinked, then Yuri grinned at Flynn. The blonde returned the smile, then turned to Estelle.

"Thank you," he murmured.

No one was sure who started the rumour that Yuri and Flynn were secretly in a relationship together. Maybe it was partly true; they weren't completely sure themselves.

What they could never really explain to people was how deep their bond truly was. They had grown up together, lived together, played together, survived together, slept and ate and breathed together, becoming so intertwined with each other that they could barely discern their differences and just become one.

When people first met them, they saw a respectable young man with a gentle smile and a high-ranking position. They saw a young ruffian with a cheeky grin who was a part-boss of a Guild. They saw complete opposites.

To them, there was no difference. Being opposite meant they were even more the same, because they could extend their own personalities more into the other. In their minds, it wasn't 'Yuri' or 'Flynn'. It was merely 'my other'.

Hanks remarked once that they seemed like twins seperated at birth. Many people disagreed, unable to see past the outer layer of who they were, but the boys agreed. They weren't just twins; they were the same person.

The same person in different bodies with different roles, but the same person nonetheless. And that meant it was okay to love without 'love'.

A/N: So, there we go.

Now, I know this may offend some people who do ship Yuri/Flynn. I personally having nothing against the ship (I'm actually thinking of writing something to do with a relationship like that), but I just thought I'd get this out there anyway.

Review?