Hopefully, this is better than my last fic...please enjoy!

NOTE: There are spoilers if you haven't gotten past the Flanoir scenes on disc 2!

Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of Symphonia.

Decisions

If there was one thing Genis hated to do, it was to choose between two things that felt important to him.

It wasn't like when he had to choose between getting like a scoop of vanilla ice cream rather than a mint one, or something like that. After all, that was when he was still a kid. He was an adult now, or at least he thought himself to be one (despite his height); those immature thoughts were so babyish, they had no relevance on the real world.

His decision now could impact the fate of both worlds.

Lloyd and Mithos…he couldn't just choose between them. They were both his best friends, he liked them both so much, and he couldn't bear to leave either of them. That was probably why all of this was so hard and stressful.

Lloyd, his childhood friend, was a total idiot, but he had a good heart and always treated Genis as an equal, despite his age and height. Genis even looked up to him, though he would never admit it to his face. They were both so different in every sense of the word, like a weed near death and a beautiful, blossoming rose, but…that's what made them such great friends.

But Mithos…he had just met him, and they had already become such close friends in so little time. They had been so alike on the surface; they were around the same age, they shared the same blood, they had been raised by their older sister, and they had a strong hatred towards humans. Genis had been ecstatic to have a friend near his age, but it had all been shattered only a few hours ago.

Genis sighed. The group had rushed to Flanoir to find a doctor for the dwarf Altessa, and several of them had left with the doctor to be his "guards". He had stayed behind, not wanting to go back to the place where he had…found out the truth. Lloyd, Colette and Zelos also stayed behind, but they were all at the inn. His sister had advised him against going outside before she had left, but here he was, leaning against the railing near the accessory shop as violent cold winds thrashed against his face. He was enveloped in a thick brown cloak, looking at the specks of snowflakes floated serenely from the black abyss above, letting his thoughts wander to the issue he didn't want to address.

Mithos…what did he mean "He had never trusted him"? Weren't they…friends? Could he still call him his friend, or even go so far as to call the other half-elf his enemy? He could never say something like that about Mithos, but he couldn't call him an ally, either. Even though they were alike, the differences in their ideals was far too great. He had said he had disliked humans, but he couldn't ever say he hated all of them. That wouldn't be fair to Lloyd, or Colette or any of the humans he had traveled with (even Zelos, as much as he hated and envied his carefree attitude). They had all treated him no differently then they would have treated a human friend, and he was so grateful to them for that. It was because of them he had learned that humans were not all prejudiced.

But that wasn't all that made the half-elven boys different. The way the Desians had stolen the lives of all those victims in order to create exspheres… it just didn't feel right. People like Marble and Lloyd's mother didn't deserve to lose their lives, and yet their souls were tossed away. All those people's lives had been thrown away, and Genis knew he could never condone such careless treatment of another person's life, no matter what race they were. It was immoral in his heart, and just plain wrong.

There was just one thing, a tiny fragment of a thought that made Genis actually consider allying himself with Cruxis; the hope of a world without discrimination or persecution that all half-elves dreamed of. If Mithos really could make the worlds that way, then Genis certainly would want to join Cruxis' ranks, but that would mean betraying his friends. Would that make him a…a traitor? He really didn't want to be known as something like that…it just wasn't like him to be disloyal.

That brought him to his main issue: whose side should he stay on? Who would he trust more in the end – the town idiot with a pure heart or the fallen hero who had pure intentions? Could he even trust himself to make the right choice? This was all so frustrating, he just wanted to-

"Genis? Are you okay?"

Whirling around in the snow, he found Lloyd, all bundled up against the harsh Flanoir cold, staring at him with a concerned look in his eyes. He hadn't even noticed him come behind him.

"Huh? …yeah, I'm fine…" Genis mumbled.

Lloyd walked over so that he stood in front of Genis. "Are you really? Ever since…last night, you've become really quiet…Colette, Zelos and I…we were all really worried. Well, maybe not Zelos, but still."

Genis sighed, careful to avoid Lloyd's gaze. "Yes, really, there's nothing wrong."

"Is it about Mithos?"

At the mention of the name, Genis' head sharply dropped, preferring to scrutinize the thick layer of snow that had already accumulated on the ground. He felt Lloyd's hand gripping his shoulder lightly, trying to reassure him. Still, Genis refused to look up.

"Genis…"

"Please don't say anything. I really don't want to talk about it. It's just…"

"Just what?"

"…Lloyd. Are we…" Genis forced himself to look up at Lloyd, making his blue eyes stare directly at Lloyd's brown ones, in the most serious tone he could muster. "Are we really friends?"

He saw Lloyd's eyes cloud over with confusion. "What do you mean? Of course we're friends! It's been that way for years now, right? And it'll always be that way, forever."

"I…I guess…" Genis let his face look down on the ground once more, and he felt Lloyd's hand fall.

"What's up with the weird question, anyway? Why's that bothering you now?"

"Don't worry about it. I just…needed some closure, I guess." Genis felt a small smile play on his lips, something that hadn't appeared recently.

"Closure? You mean you needed to close something?"

Genis recognized the sound of his laughter ringing out in the silent, empty night.

"Huh? That wasn't it?"

"Lloyd? Don't ever change."

"Yeah, sure, but what did you-"

Lloyd stopped, after Genis had moved forward, hugging Lloyd tightly. Lloyd confusedly returned the embrace.

"Um, what's-"

"Thank you, Lloyd. I feel a lot more…free, after talking with you. So thanks."

"Thanks? But what did I-"Lloyd was cut off again as Genis abruptly ran off towards the inn with a visible smile on his face. He knew where he belonged, where he should stay. It was right in front of him all along. He had just let his broken, one-sided bond with Mithos fog up his mind, and though he knew he could never hate Mithos, after all the terrible things Cruxis had done, he could never feel in place there. He belonged here, where he could make fun of Lloyd and Zelos and withstand Raine's maniacal rants about ruins and stutter his way around Presea. With every step he took forward, he was sure of it. And at this point, no matter what regrets he had about staying here, it was all worth it.

Lloyd, who was really confused, just watched him disappear from his sight.

"What the hell was that about?"

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