A/N: Just a little oneshot that takes place a few months after "Conviction." It helps to read that story first, but I think there's enough exposition to allow this one to stand alone. It can also be read as linking "The Things We Leave Behind" into the set.
Disclaimer: The characters and setting in this story are from Tales of Vesperia and do not belong to me.
Spring came slowly to the lower quarter, which glistened in the fading sunlight: its windows rimed with frost and dark ice lurking in treacherous patches on the roads, waiting to slip up the unwary. It had been warm in the palace and, at first, the cool night air had been refreshing. Now, however, the cold and the damp were seeping unpleasantly through Flynn's cloak, making him tense and shiver and hurry his steps toward the meager warmth of Yuri's tiny apartment.
He'd been informed some hours ago that Yuri had stopped by to see him but hadn't bothered to wait around when he'd learned that Flynn was in a meeting. It was just as well, since it had taken him ages to finish up the work that required his immediate attention before he was able to justify slipping away for a visit.
As he neared The Comet, he heard Yuri before he saw him and paused, listening. There were shrieks, giggles, and shouts, and then, beneath the sounds of children playing, he heard Yuri's laughter. It was a sound he hadn't heard much of for a long time, and he savored it for a moment before turning the corner and revealing his presence.
A few feet away, Yuri was surrounded by a group of five children, all armed with makeshift swords put together with twigs and twine. The way the ends of the twine fluttered loose reminded Flynn of Yuri's Second Star, and he suspected that his friend had had a hand in making them.
One of the boys charged forward suddenly, sword raised in a fair imitation of the way Yuri so often held it as he rushed into battle. Flynn saw Yuri's grin, saw him crouch at the ready, and watched as he snatched the boy off his feet, letting the momentum spin them around.
He built up speed, spinning faster, then shouted: "Flynn! Catch!"
It was all the warning Flynn got before the child was flung from Yuri's grasp and came flying straight into his arms, raised automatically at Yuri's shout. He staggered backward and tripped, falling onto a dusty pile of sacks that had been thrown out on the curb. Yuri threw back his head and laughed as Flynn picked himself up and dusted off while the boy ran back screaming: "Again! Again!" The whole group was suddenly clamoring for a ride, and Flynn quickly took a seat on a bench and folded his arms before Yuri could use him for target practice a second time.
In a matter of moments, Yuri let himself be dragged down by the tiny mob and Flynn watched, smiling, as he wrestled the five of them until the last of the sunlight faded away and mothers began calling the boys in. When the last child turned toward home, raising his sword in a salute as he went, Yuri brushed carelessly at the dirt and smudges and wrinkles on his shirt and took a seat next to Flynn. He leaned back, lacing his fingers behind his head, and stared up at the sky, eyes sparkling with mirth and vivacity.
"Good catch," he said, and Flynn knew he was being teased.
"You shouldn't throw children, Yuri."
"They're strong kids, they can take being tossed around a bit. Besides, I knew you'd catch him."
"I heard you came looking for me today."
"And now you're returning the favor."
"I thought you didn't like coming to the palace. I seem to recall you complaining about how the guards look at you funny."
"That doesn't sound like me. You must be confused."
"No, I remember. It was when—"
Without warning, Yuri dragged Flynn close and kissed him. It hadn't been a particularly important argument, so Flynn let it go and focused instead on how warm Yuri was and how, after they'd spent so many nights pressed close together under the blankets, the few inches between their bodies as they sat side-by-side seemed unacceptable. He pulled Yuri closer, never mind that they were in public, that Yuri was covered in sweat and dirt. What mattered was love and desire and the way being with Yuri left him fulfilled in a way that all the good he did as Commandant never could. Yuri was his friend, lover, foil, and family. He had never loved anyone the way he loved Yuri. He felt sure he never would.
They broke apart, relaxing back against the bench, and if Yuri was just a bit closer than he might normally have sat, if he was beginning to shiver just a little as the sweat cooled and he settled down after his roughhousing, Flynn wasn't about to point these things out and spoil the moment. Instead, he looked up as Yuri did, gazing into the starry sky.
He'd grown accustomed to the emptiness of the sky without the rings of the barrier blastia sectioning it off, and there was a certain beauty to the arbitrary sprinkling of stars, uninterrupted by technology. Brighter than all the other stars, Brave Vesperia shone down upon them, keeping solitary vigil over the world.
Recently, Flynn had found the sight of Brave Vesperia increasingly reassuring. The parallels between the legend and Yuri were not lost on him and, with the revelation that Lady Estellise was the Child of the Full Moon, Flynn had been unable to completely dismiss the idea that if one sibling had stepped out of legend to save the world, her brother couldn't be far behind. There were times when Yuri would be right beside him, yet feel worlds away. In those instances, the light of the brightest star in the sky eased those recurring fears that Yuri was fading away, leaving him behind. There was only one Brave Vesperia, and he continued to watch the world from above.
Still, the unease inspired by such thoughts made the quiet between them unbearable.
"You seemed like you were having fun."
Yuri shrugged. "It gave me something to do to kill time."
The fact that Yuri had even been allowed to play with the children was a huge relief for Flynn. Not long ago, Yuri had become a target for the anger and resentment of the citizens of the lower quarter. He had neither asked for nor claimed credit for the things he did to save the world, but the people of the capital weren't stupid, merely fed up with the excesses of the upper class and scared of what a future with no blastia power would bring. It hadn't taken long for rumors of Yuri's involvement to spread and, as he was much quicker to accept blame than praise, Yuri had found himself on the wrong end of at least two attacks that Flynn knew of, and probably considerably more troubles of a more subtle kind. He may have been a child of the lower quarter, but he was also a loner, a guildsman, and someone with no influence that could cause trouble in return. Yuri had only his own strength to fight back with.
Of course, he'd never complained about any of it, and Flynn wasn't sure whether to call that strength or cowardice. No matter what else had changed, Yuri still did not allow himself to ask for help. Maybe he trusted Flynn to have his back, but the trust was always unspoken, and the aid always unasked for.
Yuri had always held himself to his own set of very strict standards. It had been good to see him so carefree for once.
"Do you ever think it would be nice to have children?" Flynn asked the question idly, mainly to have something else to say. Even so, the thought of Yuri with a pack of his own children to chase down was far too amusing.
"What?"
Though Yuri's head snapped around at that to stare at him, Flynn didn't take his eyes from the stars. He didn't need to look to know what expression Yuri would be wearing.
"It's just…you looked happy earlier. It was a different sort of happy from what I normally see on you. More…I don't know…peaceful. It made me wonder if maybe we're missing out on something."
Yuri was silent for several long moments. Then: "I think you've been working too hard."
Flynn could hear the smirk in his voice. He knew that expression as well, knew how true amusement crinkled up Yuri's eyes and made them sparkle, and how obvious it was to him when Yuri used that mask to hide what he really thought. He glanced over and realized immediately that Yuri was not amused.
"What would we do with kids? You think they'd leave you alone just because you have a busy schedule? And if you thought tossing that kid to you was dangerous, what about taking him along when Brave Vesperia gets contracted to fight off monsters?" He laughed, but Flynn didn't hear any of his earlier warmth in the sound.
"Yuri—"
"I bet you haven't even had dinner yet, have you? How would you expect to be able to care for a kid?" He jumped up off the bench and jerked his head toward The Comet. "Come on. Let's get something to eat, then we can go upstairs and you can show me how much you missed me."
"Wait a minute!"
He was already walking away, and didn't bother looking back when he spoke. "I'm just passing through on my way back to Dahngrest. If you don't want to waste the rest of the night, then hurry up."
One night. He hadn't seen Yuri in over a month, and all they had was one night. It didn't take Flynn long to decide to let go of whatever Yuri had been hiding and play along as if nothing was wrong. Yuri was a grown man. If he had a problem, he could come right out and say it. Flynn wasn't going to start a fight over it and spoil their time together.
Later that night, after dinner and wine and catching up and pointed comments that Flynn didn't understand the point of, after a few chaste kisses and a little more wine, after they had retired to Yuri's room and reacquainted themselves with each other's bodies through fingers, lips, teeth, and tongues, after Yuri had made Flynn gasp and moan and beg, they lay together in Yuri's cramped bed, and Yuri felt as distant as the stars.
As the afterglow faded and the chill of the evening began to set in, Yuri pushed Flynn away and got out of bed. He walked naked to his dresser and pulled a bottle out of the top drawer, holding it up and sloshing the contents a bit to show Flynn.
"A gift from the old man. Want some?"
"I've had enough for tonight."
With a shrug, Yuri broke the seal, uncorked the bottle, and took a sip. Flynn watched him until the sight of him so close yet so closed off was too much. He rolled to face the wall, careful to leave room for Yuri to lay back down behind him. He thought to wait until Yuri came back to bed, that perhaps then, sated and maybe still a little uninhibited from the wine at dinner and the nightcap, that he would explain his odd mood, that he would talk to Flynn for once rather than trying to bury his issues or work them out through fighting.
At some point, Flynn dozed off while he waited. He woke the next morning alone and cold, knowing that Yuri had already left the city, but not knowing when he would be back. He sighed, and pushed the matter to the back of his mind as he got cleaned up and dressed and went back to work.