so, i was finnaly able to watch Tales of Vesperia~ The First Strike and this lovly little fanfic was born! it's part of a seires of oneshots i'm current working on. they all tie in with each other but are each there own idevidual story, like the fight Flynn and Yuri had, i'm typeing that one at the moment...but it's going to take a while...i'm haveing a hard time writing the actual fight( the kicks and punches) so the others will be up before it. yes i'm not writing them in order but that's ok. while this isn't my first time writeing a ToV fanfic, it is my first time uploading one and i hope everyone likes it. please enjoy! also check out the fanart i drew for it!(copy, past, and take out the spaces) http :/ /digiandromeda .deviantart .com / #/ d2sh vop

Disclaimer: i do not own Tales of Vesperia or it's characters...i'm just barowing them for a bit. They belong to Namco Bandai.

It was the middle of the night and Yuri, who was unable to fall asleep, was sitting in one of the giant branches of Halure's grate tree. His long black hair was tied in a loose braid, and he was wearing a black tank top with matching pajama shorts. His bare feet dangled over the edge of the branch while his arms hung limply in his lap. The right side of his body was leaning against the tree and his dark gray eyes where lazily watching the stars. His back was slouched and the expression on his face was a troubled one.

The fight he had with Flynn earlier that day lay heavily on his mind, to be more specific, the words that Flynn shouted at him where what troubled him the most.

"Someone whose only job was dog-sitting would not know how hard real work is!"

Those words hurt more than any punch or kick Flynn dished out. Those words opened the old wound in his heart and the memories he had locked away.

To think that such a simple sentence could make me fill so helpless and weak… Yuri thought, But then again… I really was too weak to do anything back then… I couldn't save Lambert or the Captain… all I could do was-

"Yuri?" his thoughts were cut off by a soft voice from below. Sitting up straight, he looked down to see Estelle staring up at him. Her chin-length pink hair slowly danced about in the gentle breeze and she was wearing a simple white spaghetti-strapped dress with pale pink slippers.

Yuri could see the worry in her sky-blue eyes and softly sighed as he remembered that she had seen the whole fight from start to finish.

"Shouldn't you be in bed Estelle?" he chided.

"That's my line, Yuri. Just because I healed your injuries doesn't mean you don't need rest." She chided back.

"If I could sleep I would…" he mumbled as he scratched the back of his head with his right hand, his gaze shifting towards the right.

"I can't hear you so I'm coming up!" she shouted and started to climb up.

"Whoa! What? Wait, Estelle, It's dangerous to try and climb this high!" he shouted back. He was higher than any of the houses in town and didn't want to worry about her falling.

Flynn and I are already on each other's nerves and I don't need another reason for him to be mad at me.

"Oh! You worry too much Yuri! I'll be fine! See I'm almost there!" she shouted from a half way point.

She's fast! Yuri was surprised at the pace she was going. Not bad for a princess…

"Here, take my hand." He lowered his right hand for her to grab hold of.

"Ah, Thank you." Reaching up with her own right hand she grabbed hold of his and, with his help, pulled herself up next to him.

"Phew…what a climb…" she then blinked as she realized how big the branch they were sitting on was, "This… branch is huge! It has got to be the size of a small bed!"

"You think the branch is amazing? Wait till you see the view." He gently placed his hand under her chin and moved her head to look towards the town. What awaited her eyes was something like a beautiful painting. The rooftops of the towns houses where all different shades of brown and covered in the pinks petals of Halure's great tree. The star-filled night sky lay behind and above the town as every now and then, the gentle breeze would scatter the petals from rooftop to rooftop and then carry them off into dark blue sky.

"Amazing…" she breathed. "It's so beautiful…" all she could do was stare in awe of what she saw.

"Yeah… it is… the rooftops of the lower quarter also had a breath taking view… you've just got to know where to look. I'll show you the next time we're there." Estelle turned to look at him, her eyes full of excitement. The idea of seeing another view like this made the smile on her face grow.

"Really? You promise?"

"Yeah." A small smile worked its way onto his face. For some reason… now that Estelle's here…I don't feel so weak and helpless anymore…must be that smile of hers…it just seems to make everything brighter.

"Alright! Yay!" Estelle cheered and threw her hands up into the air, only to bring them down a few seconds later when the wind started to blow. The wind was cold and it sent shivers down her back.

"Brrr… it's so c-cold…" she stammered a bit as she rubbed her shoulders, trying to warm them up.

"That's what you get for coming out here without a coat." Yuri laughed.

"You're mean! I came out here because I was worried about you!" she pouted and glared at him. As soon as the words left her mouth, he once again remembered his fight with Flynn and immediately stopped laughing. Sighing once again he shifted position so that his back was against the tree, his left leg stretched out along the branch, just behind Estelle, while his right leg was pulled up with his right arm leaning on it. His left arm he placed on his lap and he leaned his head against the tree trunk and looked at the brightest star in the sky, Vesperia.

"I'm sorry you had to see that… Flynn and I have a bad habit of taking out our frustrations on each other every now-and-then… although this time we both said things we shouldn't have…I'm sorry for worrying you."

"Oh, no, th-that's ok-Kay…it's j-just…um…w-well…uh…" She shivered and stammered.

"Are you that cold?" Yuri raised an eyebrow and looked at her in amusement.

"Y-yes! This b-breeze is freezing! How c-can you n-not-t be cold!" she glared at him, which he found very amusing.

"Ahaha! I'm used to it!" he laughed. "here." He reached out to her with his left hand. "If we lean against each other, our body heat should keep us warm." She blushed.

"That's r-right b-but…um… I d-don't th-think…um…" her face became as read as a tomato.

"So you'd rather freeze then cuddle with me? Aw Estelle, that hurts." He teased her in an overly sarcastic tone. Then, putting an obviously fake 'hurt' expression on his face, he said, "I guess you don't like me after all. Yes, you'd rather travel with Flynn wouldn't you?"

"Oh! You! you!" Estelle puffed out her blushing checks and pouted. Yuri only laughed at her. Frustration building up inside her, she grabbed his out-stretched hand and crawled over to him. "Fine!" she shouted as she sat herself down between his legs and leaned her back against his chest. His left hand still firmly gripped in her right one, she used her other hand to grab his right one and pull them over her shoulders and crossed them just under her chin. This caused him to lean forward slightly, which resulted in his chin resting on top of her head. His eyes wide in shock, he slightly blushed when Estelle rested her head on his collar bone and says:

"I'd much rather be here with you then somewhere else without you." Yuri was taken aback by this.

She's said similar things to me in the past but… for some reason it feels… different this time…why?... he stared at her hands, which still held his, and blinked as she snuggled closer.

no… I know the reason why…

"I… know it's n-not my p-place to ask b-but…the argument with Flynn, he said s-something ab-bout dogs and y-you became really angry…um…m-may I ask why?" she asked, still somewhat cold.

Yuri opened his mouth a few times to say something but nothing came out. He sighed again as his shoulders slumped. He shifted a bit to become more comfortable, lifting his left leg to parallel his right. He also leaned his forehead towards the top of the back of Estelle's head. He moved his arms so that his right hand held her left arm and vice-versa.

"Yuri?"

"I… wasn't able to save… Lambert…"

"Lambert?"

"Repede's Father..."

"Ah!"

"Actually…I… was the one…that…nn…" he bit his lip, not wanting to finish the sentence. Silence followed as Yuri relived the painful memory. Estelle kept quiet, waiting for Yuri to gather his thoughts. "I…was…ah.." he let out an exasperated sigh.

"if it's too painful… you don't have to say anything…" she could feel the weight of his body on her back and the light tremble in his arms. Her hands still holding his arms, she gave them a gentle squeeze. "I'd like to know why you're so upset but… if talking about it is only going to cause you more pain… then I don't need to know."

"Estelle…" they fell into a comfortable silence and Yuri turned all of his attention to the petit body in his arms.

To think that someone so small could be so strong and warm…I wonder… dose she realize that the simple act of staying by my side has protected me so many times in the past?

Finally he broke the silence, "Estelle…sorry"

"For what?"

"worrying you…"

"don't worry about it."

"also…"

"yes?"

"thank you…for… staying by my side…"

"I'll always be by your side, Yuri."

"thank you."

I'm not alone and I'm stronger than I was in the past. Estelle, Flynn, and everyone else… they are strong and as long as we fight together and protect each other…we won't lose each other.

/Until next time/

well, what did you guys think? i tried my best to keep them in character and i apologize if they where OOC at all any time during the fic. as for the other Oneshots, they will be update when ever i finnesh typing them and can get my friend to profread them. well that's all, thanks for reading and please REVIEW!