Title: Idiots

Series: Tales of Vesperia

Genre/Pairing: Flynn/Yuri Friendship, joking Romance.

Author's Note: A fanfic that was supposed to be a drabble, but I ended up writing five pages for it instead. I thought of a sad thing, so I wrote it. But it ended up being really happy. There's a mild spoiler, but it won't really make sense unless you've played the game. So I guess it doesn't matter?

Listened to "The Link" from the game's soundtrack while writing it.

Yuri followed Flynn to the outskirts of the town without a word. They had left the others at the inn, all now sleeping heavily from the exhaustion of their travel. The night air was damp and nothing could be heard save for the warm blow of the wind and the soft crash of the waves from the far-off coast. Their muted footsteps on the grass were the only announcement of their presence. When they were a good ways away, Flynn came to an abrupt stop. Yuri stood in place, raising his eyes inquisitively.

"So what'd you wanna talk about? It seems like you've had something on your mind for a whi-"

Yuri's voice trailed off when he saw Flynn's fists begin to tremble. He cocked his head to the side and frowned, waiting for some kind of response. When Flynn gave none and a few moments of silence passed before Yuri heard the blonde take a deep, shaky breath. Yuri tensed in alarm and stepped forward to touch Flynn's shoulder.

"Hey, what's wrong?" He asked quietly.

Just as suddenly as Flynn had stopped walking, he turned around and hugged Yuri close.

"Wha-" Yuri stuttered, taking a small step back to keep from falling. He felt Flynn's arms wrap around him securely; his arms still shivered.

"...Flynn?" Yuri's arms were limp at his sides, letting the commandant pull him closer. Another quick second passed before he heard another uneven breath and what might have been a very, very carefully masked sob.

"I... I'm sorry, Yuri... I just-" Flynn's voice was low in Yuri's ear and hearing his friend's voice sound as unstable as it did sent a numb chill to the ends of his limbs.

"I... never lost hope... that you were okay. But I..."

Yuri's eyes looked away, a strange feeling of sympathy washing over him. He frowned when he felt Flynn's body shake against him once more. His voice broke slightly with his next words,

"At one point, though... I..."

Soft, sun-streaked spikes pressed against his neck and Yuri could almost swear he felt something warm seeping to his shirt. Yuri bit his lip softly, trying to will away the memories before they surfaced. He knew how Flynn felt, he knew exactly the fear that raced through his blood like a shock of electricity when Flynn pushed him out of the way, when he saw the laser rip through Flynn's tunic. Yuri swallowed hard, trying to stay calm.

"I-I really thought-you were-"

Yuri heard another, less-controlled sound escape Flynn's throat and from there the other's breaths staggered, trembling more and more. A few more quiet sobs followed.

Yuri didn't notice his own eyes stinging until he reached his hands up to Flynn's shoulders, returning the embrace.

"Hey... C-C'mon..." Yuri spoke with the same quiet unevenness in his voice, "S-Someone's... gonna hear-you-"

Yuri's own breath betrayed him and he couldn't keep his body from shivering as well. He wrapped his arms snug around the other and pressed his forehead to Flynn's shoulder as the blonde had done to him. He held on even tighter when he felt Flynn's body tremble again.

They lay on the grassed prairie now, side-by-side, as they looked up at the stars. The pale moon shone brightly above them, giving everything a mysterious sheen. Even the Adephagos was able to add to the serenity of the view. Another warm, solid wind blew up the hill to meet the pair and they took a deep breath in as it glided over their faces. Off in the distance, the town sparkled dimly with night-time lights and campfires. Yuri was the first to break the silence.

"It's amazing; the world is on the brink of destruction and yet it can be so peaceful in this moment."

"Yes. It's unnerving... but also truly amazing."

A comfortable silence passed as another wind rustled over them.

"But what's really amazing..." The tone of Yuri's voice made Flynn tense for an unknown reason. He hadn't heard that tone for some time and even though he couldn't directly see Yuri's face, he was already quite positive of the smirk on his face.

"I mean, it's really such an honor. Flynn Scifo, the Commandant and commander of the famous Flynn Brigade-"

Flynn turned his head to speak with a warning voice, "Yuri..."

"Crying over little old me? Oh, dear, what will all of your crowds of female fans have to say about that?"

Yuri rolled over, narrowly dodging a violent pounce from Flynn. Yuri always was more nimble than his companion.

"Yuri, don't! Don't you dare!" Even in the moonlight, Yuri could see the flush that had oh-so-sublty skipped across the blonde's cheeks. The vigilante grinned with successful mischief.

"Don't I what? Tell all of Zaphias' female populous that I can drive a reaction out of you when they can't even get you to look at them? I can see it now-rows of girls lamenting over the Heart-Throb Commandant's confe-"

In his torment Yuri hadn't had enough time to dodge Flynn's second attempt of a tackle and he thanked the grass for being as soft as it was when the ground swiftly met with his back. Flynn had pinned him to the ground and was smirking right back at him now.

"Ah, but let us not forget-I'm more than sure I heard you crying against me!"

Yuri faked a sarcastic calm, snorting before commenting,

"Me? Cry? Sorry, not in my contract. Us hardened criminals don't have such weaknesses. We've got this little thing called a 'reputation'."

He really was such a snark.

"Besides, you're much more popular than I am, Sir Knight."

Flynn went to retort but he felt gravity rush up to meet him now as Yuri had rolled them over, causing them to tumble down the hill together. They wrestled even as they tumbled, easy laughter escaping them now instead of cries.

When they reached the base of the hill, Yuri was leaning overhead. Their labored breaths were the only thing disrupting the quiet night before they both burst into more laughter.

Shortly after, Yuri got off of Flynn and reached a hand down to help him to his own feet. They held on for a moment, sharing a gaze of confidence and trust, the only absolute they had believed in since they were small.

Flynn smiled, "C'mon, we should head back."

"Yeah."

They took their time returning to the inn, chatting about nothing as they went, and just before they entered the arch, Yuri turned to Flynn,

"So, how about we both keep this between us? Agreed?"

The blonde's eyes glinted with mischief, but he nodded and spoke with promise, "Agreed."

"Good." Yuri made to continue towards the inn, but side-stepped close to Flynn to place a quick peck on his cheek. Flynn jumped and a very undignified squeak left his lips. Yuri hopped back before winking at him and cooing,

"Our little secret."

He laughed out loud when he saw the bewildered look on Flynn's face and again when he felt Flynn run into him from behind, feeling what he assumed was a half-hearted choke near the base of his head. They both shared another laugh and wrapped their arm around the other's shoulders in a friendly display.

They didn't even notice Rita walk past half-awake as they went towards the inn.

The brunette stared at them with drowsy irritation.

"... Idiots."