If it only was for tonight . . .

One-shot: Tales of Vesperia: Yuri x Rita

A/N: This story takes place before the end of the game in Halure. Rita is still fifteen, therefore there won't be any smut. Simple fluff!

Anyway ~ This is one last kick before summer ends - so - goodbye free time, and hello nine months of monotonous insanity. Oh hell yeah. (Well ~ I suppose nine months isn't extremely long . . . time flies by as we get older.)

Here's some Yuri x Rita for oange, I had said that I was going to write some Yurita after my other stories - but there happens to be some road blocks in the writing area for those stories. So ~ you all get this instead . . . ah - what do you guys think of me dabbling into some Rita x Raven as well? And should I just place this in one category? Eh?

And sorry that I have the same elements from my other Vesperia Story . . . hur hur.

Anyway here's to you oange~

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Rita laid underneath the tree, swatting away the petals that would fall on her face, becoming more aggravated by the second. What she needed was rest before the final battle, and she wasn't going to get any inside the inn. Especially when you had the old man snoring and Karol mumbling in his dreams. But what was she going to do, she understood that everyone needed their rest, so logic told her to simply go elsewhere instead of bugging everybody. However, that logic of hers seemed to only set her into a deeper rut.

Sitting up, she placed her head in her hands. "At this rate, I'll probably pass out from lack of sleep while we're fighting Duke." The mage mumbled, mussing her own hair. This had been a long journey for her – for everyone. Even thinking back to the day they had barged into her small little hut of a home, it had placed a small rueful smile on her face. Who would have thought she would end up staying with them until the last fight?

She certainly didn't. Her first sight of them fell upon incredulous and absolutely ridiculous. You had your vagabond swordsman, a woman who belonged no where outside the barriers, and then a child. They had to be the oddest group she had ever seen – and then, she had joined the group herself, it was amusing to say the least. Then quite quickly the others joined, forming the group they had now.

But after this last fight, their little group . . . their small family would go their separate ways, wouldn't they? Rita frowned at the thought, she would be alone again. And though that time was once cherished, she would come to miss the idle chatter, the small fights and the reassurance she had that someone would be there for her in battle.

Shaking her head and staring up at the tree above her, she grumbled. Why was she, Rita Mordio, being this pathetic? She didn't need anyone. She had lived the majority of her life by herself, fending for herself. She didn't need anyone.

Concentrating on a single petal, she sighed. "You've become weak Mordio." Putting her hand out, she tried to catch the delicate pink petal, but failed in doing so. She laughed without meaning and let her hands drop to the ground, she laid back down as she closed her eyes. The mage concentrated on her breathing and tried her best to not be nostalgic.

"It's not good to talk to yourself Rita." Rita's body gave a slight jump off the ground, she hadn't expected him to be up this late at night – especially since it had been him who had opted that they rest the night before they headed in. Parting her now suddenly chap lips, she spoke.

"I'm trying to sleep, Yuri." The mage snapped, not bothering to look at the swordsman. She heard his light laughter getting louder as he made his way towards her. "Why did you decide to sleep out here?" He asked, ignoring her last comment. She sat up as she heard him sitting down beside her. Twisting her head and staring at him, she gave him a very blasé stare. "Have you heard the old man sleep?" At that, Yuri smiled, not saying anything but only turning his head.

"You nervous, Rita?" He asked after a moments silence. She stared at him through the corner of her eyes and scoffed. "This is just another enemy – why should I be scared?" Rita stated haughtily. Yuri turned his head and stared at her, an eyebrow raised and a cocky smile painted on his face.

"I asked if you were nervous, not scared."

Rita's face pinched together as her head raised slightly. "S-shut up! It's the same thing!" The young girl snapped as a light pink danced across her cheeks, quickly developing into a deeper shade of red. Yuri only laughed. "It's okay if you're scared, we all are." He assured her, staring at the young girl. But she didn't answer, she simply stared down at her crossed legs. Yuri shook his head and stood, he knew Rita well enough that if she didn't want to talk about something, she wasn't going to – and if she was, it would be to Estelle. Why he thought she would even talk to him was beyond anything he could think of.

Yuri began walking away from the mage, heading back to the inn. But he hadn't that the girl had stood up now, her head down as she began to speak. Her voice however wasn't loud enough for Yuri to actually decipher the words she spoke, but he turned his head nonetheless.

"Sorry Rita, but . . . I can't hear you." Yuri stated meekly, afraid this would only cause her to say nothing. She rose her head and stared at him, her eyes melting with anxiety.

"I am scared dammit!" She yelled, her fists curled tightly at her sides. Her body had gone stiff now as Yuri walked back to her. "But not because of our enemy." the young woman whispered, turning her head to the side, as if to avoid the possibility for Yuri to see the tears parading down her cheek. "W-what happens, in the end? We're all going to separate." Her voice was soft as she answered her own question.

Yuri scratched the back of his head, he didn't really have experience in this area. Judith was older and knew how to deal with her emotions, and Estelle was easily taken care of. But Rita? Either she was happy or she was ticked off – but never overwhelmed or upset. And even if she was – never to this degree. It was a strange thing to Yuri.

His hand floated over to the young girl's shoulder who's body seemed to have frozen. But under his touch, which he was surprised she even let him do, he could feel her body shaking softly. "We're all going to defeat this damned thing and . . . and . . ." She trailed off, her voice being strained from the oncoming tears. Taking a deep breath she continued, even though she was upset that she was crying in front of Yuri and telling him her fears, she continued. "And I'll be alone. You have no idea how alone I was." Her voice had grown to be rough now as she looked up at Yuri. But instead of being disgusted as she thought he'd be, there was sympathy in his eyes.

Rita frowned, she may have just preferred him to be disgusted with her.

"We've all been alone at one point in time, that I can understand." He began to lower his head slowly so his forehead touched hers. Again, she shocked him by allowing this. "But we're kind of a family now, don't you think?" At those words Rita's small heart nearly stopped – was this the reassurance she needed?

Yuri smiled and wrapped his arms around Rita hesitantly, kissing her forehead lightly as if to comfort her. Rita pushed him away and wiped away the tears. Yuri stared at her sheepishly, scratching the back of his head.

"You stupid moron." Rita snapped angrily, but there on her reddened face was a definite smile. Even if he was lying to her, and even if they did end up going their separate ways. If it only was for tonight that she could feel that she wasn't so alone, she would be fine. These memories with her friends, the battles they fought together, they would be able to fill in any emptiness that she'd feel in the future. The mage laughed softly, her chuckle inaudible to Yuri.

Looking up at the tree of Halure, a petal made it's way to gently settle in her hair. She had this family now.

"I suppose this is all I really need."

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A/N: Ha ha! So I hope you liked it, there was some light Yurita, but I didn't want to go into full on make-out session. I mean, keep in mind that she's fifteen. But hopefully it was cute enough to fill your crave. Ha ha, anyway, I had fun writing this. Please Review!

And I hope you liked it oange! Hopefully I'll write a full out story one day! ^^