Hey there! Ex-Shark-Virute-005 here with another Tales of Vesperia fic. Seeing that it's nearly winter where I'm from I decided to write a cute little winter related fic. Other than it's a post game fic, I don't have much else to say. So enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Tales of Vesperia or the characters. If I did Karol's default outfit would be the girly outfit with the small pipe attachment (I'm sorry it's amusing).

Happy Reading!

Chapter One: Damn Cold, It Made Me Sick

Repede knew that something was not quite right about his human companion from the moment he laid his eye on him. First of all it was much later than the human normally woke up. Secondly, he wasn't responding to the nudging and whining.

Repede whined a bit more then left the room in search of someone who could help his human friend. He knew that he would not be able to help his human friend, so he set out to find someone who could.

Estellise was taking her normal morning walk around Zaphias. It was rather cold that morning and many of the residents were wearing thick jackets to keep warm. She wandered into the lower quarter. She had grown to know many of the residents who lived there thanks to Yuri.

"Good morning Hanks!" She called.

"Ah good morning Miss. Estelle," Hanks greeted, "Taking your usual walk I see."

"Of course," Estellise said.

"Sometimes I wish Yuri was more like you," Hanks said glancing up at Yuri's bedroom window, "This time of year he won't show his face until midday."

Estellise giggled, "He just doesn't like the cold very much," She said.

Before Hanks could reply to what Estellise had said there was a loud bark and Repede ran over to them.

"There's the dog," Hanks said, "Now where's the boy?"

Repede whined and tugged at the front of Estellise's jacket, "What's wrong Repede?" She asked as the dog started to drag her towards the inn, "I'm sorry Hanks Repede wants me to go with him apparently. Have a nice day!"

"You too Miss. Estelle," Hanks said, "Don't let Yuri give you too much trouble."

"Repede, stop pulling!" She said, "You never paid any attention when I was traveling with Yuri and now all of a sudden you start dragging me everywhere. Where are we going?" The dog looked up towards Yuri's window, "You want me to go to Yuri's room?" She asked. Repede barked, "Alright let's go."

Yuri was still asleep when Estellise and Repede entered the room. Repede walked over to the bed nudged Yuri then whined.

"He's just asleep Repede," Estellise said.

Repede huffed in annoyance and continued whining. It was crucial that the pink-haired human understand that there was something wrong with Yuri. She needed to help him!

"Do you think that there's something wrong with him?" Estellise asked somehow understanding what the dog was trying to tell her.

Repede huffed again. The human needed to understand, to help Yuri.

Estellise took a closer look at Yuri and noticed that his face was a little bit flushed and seemed clammy. She frowned as she put her hand to Yuri's forehead, "He's a little warm," She said, "Thank you Repede."

"Ugh…Estelle…" Yuri muttered as he coughed a bit and opened his eyes, "What are you doing here?"

"Oh I'm sorry," Estellise said, "Did I wake you?"

"Yeah, you kinda did…"

"I'm sorry," Estellise said, "I was taking my usual walk and Repede dragged me here."

"I see…ugh…" Yuri attempted to sit up but he was met by a wave of lightheadedness, "What the hell…?"

"Lie down," Estellise said as she eased Yuri against the bed again, "You're running a fever."

"I'm sick?" Yuri asked, "No wonder I feel like crap…ugh…dammit…"

"What's wrong?"

"There's a guild meeting in Danghrest today," Yuri said, "Judi's supposed to pick us up in an hour."

"Well, we're not going," Estellise said, "You need to rest and someone needs to take care of you."

"You don' have to stay here," Yuri said, "I can fend for myself."

"Not with that fever you can't," Estellise said, "You shouldn't be up and about when you're sick. Are you hungry?"

"No," Yuri said, "I'm gonna sleep some more."

"Okay," Estellise said, "Sleep well." She turned to Repede, "You're a very smart dog Repede. I'm going to get some ice for his head. I'll be back in a little bit."

Repede nodded a bit and Estellise left the room.

Rita Mordio was not happy when she was the only one who showed up at the gate in the public quarter of Zaphias.

"Judith's gonna be here any minute now," She thought, "Where the hell are Yuri and Estelle?" She sighed, "Alright Yuri," She said, "I know it's cold but really? You can't stay in bed all day."

"Oh, you're the only one here today?" Judith said as she walked over to the mage.

"Looks like it," Rita said.

"Do you think we should wait for them?" Judith asked.

"I wouldn't," Rita said, "I would just leave if I were you."

"We should at least stop by their homes," Judith said, "Maybe they've forgotten?"

"I doubt it but whatever," Rita sighed, "However, you're going to the Royal quarter for Estelle, I hate that place."

"Okay," Judith said, "I'll get Estelle and you go get Yuri."

"Fine," Rita said.

Judith walked up to the guard standing watch at the castle. "Excuse me kind sir," She said.

"Y-yes…?" The guard stuttered clearly head over heels for the Krytian woman, "C-can I help you…?"

"I was just wondering if you knew if Lady Estellise is home," Judith asked.

"No," The guard said, "She stepped out a while ago and hasn't gotten home yet. Do you want me to leave a message?"

"Tell her that Judith stopped by," Judith said, "Thank you kind sir."

"Y-you're welcome…"

Rita walked up to Yuri's room and knocked on the door. When there was no response she knocked a bit louder.

"Come on!" She yelled, "Open the damn door!" When there was still no response she took the liberty to let herself in, "Yuri should lock his door every once and a while." She thought. When she entered the room she found that Yuri was still asleep, "Come on you lazy-ass, get up!"

Yuri turned on his side so that his back was facing Rita, "Go away Rita…" Yuri mumbled, "I'm…"

"I don't wanna hear your excuses Yuri Lowell!" Rita yelled wishing that she still had her blastia so she could set Yuri's bed on fire, "I'm gonna give you five seconds to get out of bed okay? Five…four…three…two…one…You're time is up! Either get out of bed yourself or I will drag you from your bed myself!"

"Rita please…" Yuri moaned, "Just let me sleep! I'm…"

"Fine!" Rita yelled as she opened the door, "Good bye!" With that she slammed the door as hard as she could.

"Sick…" Yuri moaned as he tried to get back to sleep.

"Oh no luck?" Judith asked.

"Yuri didn't want to get his lazy ass out of bed," Rita said, "God I wish I could still use my magic to its full potential, I would have set his bed on fire!"

"Should we just get going then?" Judith said, "Estelle wasn't at the castle."

"I would," Rita said, "They can deal with the consequences for not showing up."

"Okay," Judith said, "Although it is rather odd for Yuri to rather stay in bed then come to a meeting…perhaps he's not feeling well?"

"Whatever," Rita said, "I just think he's being lazy."

"Shall we go?"

When Estellise reentered the room she found that Yuri was lying awake.

"I thought you were going to get some sleep," She said.

"I was," Yuri said, "But Rita saw to that."

"Rita was here?" Estellise asked.

"Yeah," Yuri said, "She was yelling and screaming and you know, just being Rita."

"Oh I see," Estellise said, "I brought you a little something to eat."

Yuri gulped, "Uh Estelle…" He started, "You know your cooking's not exactly…"

"What are you trying to say?" Estellise said.

"Well, I'm saying that whenever you cooked there was a fifty percent chance of it being inedible," Yuri said, "Are you sure it's not going to make me sicker?"

"Are you saying I'm a bad cook?" Estellise exclaimed.

"No," Yuri said, "The stuff you managed to cook right was really good. But when I'm sick, I just can't take any chances. My stomach won't take well to poorly prepared food today."

"I'm insulted Yuri Lowell!" Estellise whined, "But the woman downstairs said that it was cooked very well."

Yuri sighed, "If you say so," He said, "But I'm warning you, if I end up throwing it up later you are going to clean it."

"Fine," Estellise said as Yuri sat up, "So what did Rita want?"

"She wanted me to get outta bed," Yuri said.

"I see," Estellise said, "We're just going to have to explain what happened at the next meeting. I'm sure they'll understand." She sighed when she noticed that Yuri still hadn't touched the soup, "You really should eat."

"Fine, fine," Yuri said as he took a small sip of the soup, "Alright, you've proved me wrong, it's not half bad."

"You see!" Estellise exclaimed, "I can cook!"

"Sorry," Yuri said, "I'm just used to having to choke down Flynn's terrible cooking when I'm sick like this."

"Flynn can't cook?" Estellise asked.

"He can cook about as well as I can use magic," Yuri said as he coughed a bit, "I would always end up so much sicker whenever Flynn took care of me. I'd either pass out from not eating or I'd end up almost puking my guts out because I ate what he gave me."

"He tried his best," Estellise said.

"Yeah," Yuri said as he yawned, "He tried his best to kill me. Well, I'm exhausted, I'm gonna get some sleep. You're on Rita Mordio lookout."

"Okay," Estellise said, "Sleep well."

"Rita, Judith!" Karol called as the two entered Danghrest, "Hey, where are Yuri and Estelle?"

"Well," Rita said, "We couldn't find Estelle and Yuri wouldn't get his lazy ass out of bed."

Karol frowned, "Dammit Yuri," He said, "You know I'm not good at coming up with punishments!"

"Perhaps after our meeting we can head to Zaphias," Judith said, "So we can find out why Yuri and Estelle aren't here. Something must be up."

"You're right," Karol said, "Yuri and Estelle wouldn't miss a meeting unless there was a really good reason."

"Well," Rita said, "It's freezing in Zaphias this time of year. I think the reason why Yuri didn't show is because he didn't feel like going out in the cold."

"He may have come down with something," Judith said.

"You think Yuri might be sick?" Rita said, "You're not covering for him are you?"

"No, not at all." Judith said, "I'm not very good at lying. Poor Yuri was rather lethargic when I visited him yesterday."

"You were visitin' Yuri yesterday?" Raven asked flabbergasted, "You're cheatin' on ol' Raven? What were ya doin' with Yuri anyway?"

"We went out for a "drink,"" Judith said, "Although neither of us had any alcohol so we went out for milkshakes instead, as friends."

"Oh good," Raven said, "You had me scared for a second there."

"But I don't see why you're so concerned," Judith said, "Seeing that we're not dating."

"Judith darlin', you're killin' me here," Raven said as he hung his head, "So anyway, do continue with your little story."

"Well," Judith said, "Poor Yuri was so tired, he just couldn't seem finish the milkshake he ordered. He ended up leaving early mentioning something about having a killer headache. He was quite pale as well and I nearly followed him back to his apartment. But he assured me that he was fine. It really wouldn't surprise me if he went straight to bed after that."

"Yuri was unable to finish something sweet?" Raven asked, "Now that's a reason for concern. We really should head to Zaphias."

"What should we do about the meeting?" Karol asked.

"What do you mean, what should we do about the meeting!" Rita exclaimed, "You're the boss!"

"I know but…" Karol started, "Yuri's always made all of the decisions for me."

"Well, Yuri's not here," Rita said, "So you're gonna have to decide."

"Let's head to Zaphias first," Karol said, "Our meeting can wait."

"Sounds good to me," Judith said, "I hope Yuri's alright..."

"Yuri had better be really sick," Rita grumbled to herself, "Because I will strangle him if he's not."

As the temperature in Zaphias dropped, Yuri's body temperature seemed to be going up. Estellise sighed as Yuri started coughing again. The coughing fits seemed to be getting more frequent as the day progressed.

"Ugh…Estelle," Yuri moaned his voice hoarse, "Is there anything you can do about this?"

"Hold on," Estellise said, "I'm going to make you an herbal tea that will help you feel better. It'll take about five minutes."

"Alright," Yuri said, "I'm not going anywhere so take your time." He sighed as he shut his eyes. He hated being sick with a passion. He hated the heat in general and when he was feverish the way he was at the moment there was no escaping it. He got out of bed and made his way over to the window. He then opened the window hoping that the below freezing air temperature from the outside would help him to feel a little better.

He sat on the windowsill and sighed. He felt awful, absolutely awful. He was both warm and cold at the same time, his head was pounding, his throat was sore and his chest was tight. He felt himself stating to doze off. Which he knew he probably shouldn't have done near the open window, but he couldn't help it, he was just so tired. He felt Repede tugging at his jacket.

"Don't worry Repede," Yuri muttered as he shut his eyes, "I won't fall."

Flynn sighed as he walked towards Estellise's room. He had heard a rumor that she had stepped out earlier in the day but never returned. He found a note taped to the door:

"I went on my daily walk. I'll be back soon."

He knocked on the door and when there was no response he sighed. He had a feeling he knew where Estellise had gone. He figured nothing bad had happened to her but just to be safe he set out to find her.

"Well, well, well," A familiar voice called as he entered the Lower Quarter, "If it isn't Flynn Scifo."

"Hanks," Flynn said.

"What brings you to this neck of the woods?" Hanks asked.

"Well I was looking for Lady Estellise," Flynn said, "She went for her daily walk hours ago and hasn't returned to the castle yet."

"The pink haired girl?" Hanks asked, "Yeah she stopped by to talk to me then she got dragged off by Yuri's dog."

"Alright," Flynn said, "Thank you."

"Don't be such a stranger Flynn," Hanks called.

"I'll try," Flynn called back as he walked off towards Yuri's apartment. As he got to the inn he could hear Repede barking. He looked up just in time to see Yuri fall out his window. "Yuri!" He cried as he rushed to catch his best friend, "Yuri! Wake up Yuri!"

"Flynn…" Yuri muttered, "What happened?"

"You fell out of your window!" Flynn exclaimed, "You're lucky I was there to catch you! What the hell were you thinking, falling asleep on the windowsill again? Didn't you learn your lesson the time you broke your arm doing that?"

"Stop yelling…" Yuri moaned, "You're making my head hurt more than it already does."

"Yuri!" Flynn exclaimed. He was about to yell at his friend for possibly letting himself get drunk. But then he realized that Yuri wasn't quite acting right, even for a possible hangover, "Yuri…" Flynn muttered as he place his hand to Yuri's forehead and found that it was rather warm, "You're sick. Have you been trying to take care of yourself all day? Do you need me to look after you?"

"Heh…" Yuri scoffed, "I didn't think that was in your job description commandant."

"Yuri," Flynn said, "You shouldn't be up and about with that fever."

"Estelle said the same exact thing." Yuri said, "I can fend for myself."

"No Yuri, you can't," Flynn said as he stood up, "If what just happened is any indication. Come on," He said, "It's back to bed for you."

"First," Yuri said, "Put me down, I can walk on my own."

"Yuri!" Flynn scolded.

"Don't make me repeat myself!" Yuri exclaimed and started coughing, "I'll cough all over you and then you'll get sick too. And we can't have the commandant of the knights getting sick right?"

"You really should take it easy Yuri," Flynn said, "You're going to get sicker."

"And you're gonna get sick if I cough all over you," Yuri said, "And I feel a pretty bad coughing fit coming on."

"Fine, fine," Flynn said as he allowed Yuri to stand, "I'll watch after you for the rest of the day."

"You don't have to," Yuri said, "Estelle's been looking after me today."

"Where was she when you fell out the window?" Flynn asked as he guided Yuri to his room.

"She went to make me some tea," Yuri said as he opened the door to his room.

"I'll stay here until she returns," Flynn said, "We can't have you fall out a window again. Now back to bed! I let you walk here on your own so get back to bed."

"Alright, alright," Yuri said as he got back in bed, "Happy now, commandant?"

"Stop calling me that," Flynn said.

"But it is your title is it not?" Yuri said, "I figured since you're taking time out of you busy schedule to waste time with a commoner like me I would use some formality."

"Yuri," Flynn said, "You're my best friend. You don't have to call me commandant. You never have in the past."

"Ah Flynn," Estellise said as she reentered the room, "What are you doing here?"

"I was out looking for you and Yuri over here fell out his window," Flynn said.

"Yuri," Estellise said, "How did you fall out the window?"

"I might have fallen asleep sitting at the window," Yuri said.

"Why were you sitting at the window when you were supposed to be in bed?" Estellise asked.

"I was hot," Yuri said, "I thought opening the window would help me to feel better."

Estellise sighed, "Yuri," She said, "You're going to get sicker. You really shouldn't have the window open either. It's not good."

"But it's so hot in here," Yuri said.

"It's really cold in here," Flynn said as he shut the window, "That can't be good for your fever."

Yuri sighed, "Don't you have someone else to bother or something else to do?" he asked as he coughed a bit, "I'm really not in the mood today."

"Yuri," Flynn said, "I guess you're right. You do need to rest today and I do need to let Ioder know that Estellise is alright. Feel better Yuri."

"Thanks Flynn," Yuri said as Flynn left the room.

"I turn my back on you for ten minutes and you fall out a window," Estellise said, "What are we going to do with you?"

"Oh no…" Yuri moaned, "Rita and I are rubbing off on you…"

Estellise sighed, "Here," She said as she handed Yuri a mug of warm tea, "That should help your cough a bit."

"Thanks," Yuri said as he took a sip, "It's pretty good Estelle. What is it?"

"It's just an herbal tea," Estellise said, "I learned how to make it working as a healer in the castle. My healing artes don't really work on illness."

Yuri finished the tea and rested against his bed, "I'm going to sleep a bit," Yuri said, "Make sure there are no more annoying interruptions."

"Okay," Estellise said, "Sleep well."

"Why didn't you tell us it was gonna be this cold?" Raven complained as he shivered.

"Well, you're from Danghrest," Rita said, "It's a lot warmer there."

"So I take it it's off to Yuri's place then," Raven said, "So who should we send to check up on him?"

"I think we should all go," Judith said, "But we shouldn't be too loud, just in case he is sick."

"Okay fine," Rita said.

Estellise was reading one of the books she had found in Yuri's room when there was a soft knock at the door. She marked her page and opened the door.

"Ah, Judith," Estellise said as she walked out of the room, "What are you doing here?"

"We were worried when you and Yuri didn't show up," She said, "We figured something was wrong."

"Yuri's running a fever," Estellise said, "I've been taking care of him today."

"So he did come down with something," Judith said, "He wasn't acting like himself yesterday."

"Estelle!" Karol called loudly completely forgetting what Judith had said earlier, "Where were you today!"

"I'm sorry," Estellise said, "I found out that Yuri wasn't feeling well today. So I stayed here to take care of him."

"If he was sick why didn't he tell me when I was here earlier?" Rita exclaimed.

"I tried," Yuri said lazily as he appeared in the doorway, "But someone was too, "Get the hell out of bed now!" to listen to me."

Rita blushed a bit, "You shoulda said something!" she exclaimed.

"I did," Yuri exclaimed back, "Twice. The first time you screamed at me and the second time you stormed out before I could finish!" Then before he could say anything else he started coughing from working himself up.

"Alright Yuri," Estellise said as she guided him to his bed, "Back to bed with you."

"Do you need us to do anything to help?" Karol asked.

"I don't think that will be necessary," Estellise said, "It's almost evening and I don't think Yuri will ask for anything else today."

"Okay," Karol said. He turned, "We should get going. Yuri needs to rest."

"Sounds good to me," Judith said, "Feel better Yuri…Yuri?"

"He's already asleep," Estellise said.

"Okay," Judith said, "We'll see you around Estelle."

"Okay," Estellise said.

"Take care of him for us," Karol said.

"I will."

Estellise sighed. Yuri was having a hard time that evening. He was trying so hard to sleep but every time Yuri was just about to fall asleep, he started coughing and woke up.

"You don't have to stay Estelle," Yuri said softly as Estellise put a damp cloth in his forehead, "I can manage for the rest of the day."

"You shouldn't be left alone in such a condition," Estellise said.

"It's just a cold," Yuri said, "It's not like I'm dying or anything."

"I know," Estellise said, "But your fever is very high and I promised everyone I'd take care of you."

"Of course you did," Yuri said, "Ugh…I feel like crap…"

"Try to get some sleep and you'll feel better," Estellise said, "I think your fever might be breaking."

"That's really easy for you to say," Yuri said, "You're not freezing one minute the on fire the next. I swear, I'm gonna kill the bastard who made me sick."

"You're so funny Yuri," Estellise said as she giggled a bit, "I like that about you."

"Really?" Yuri asked, "I'm just being me."

"Yuri," Estellise said softly, "I've been thinking."

"You're kidding?" Yuri said sarcastically, "You never think."

"I think you're thinking of yourself Yuri Lowell," Estellise said, "But anyway, I want to get to know you better."

"What do you mean?" Yuri asked, "What do you want to know?"

"I want to be closer to you," Estellise said hoping that Yuri would understand.

"You want to move out of the castle?" Yuri asked. Clearly not understanding what Estellise was telling him.

Estellise sighed. Either Yuri wasn't thinking clearly because of the fever or he was truly clueless. "No," she said, "You need to learn a thing or two from Raven."

"Huh?"

"I like you Yuri!" Estellise exclaimed.

"That's kinda obvious," Yuri responded. Estellise gasped. Had Yuri already figured her out? Perhaps he wasn't as clueless as Flynn had made him out to be, "I mean if you didn't like me you wouldn't hang around me so much."

Estellise sighed and slapped herself in the forehead, "You're so clueless!" She exclaimed, "You really need to take lessons from Raven! Flynn was right! You really don't understand female psychology!"

"I'm sorry," Yuri said. He was trying to make heads or tails what Estellise was telling him but the thinking involved was making his head pound. "You lost me."

Estellise sighed, "I like you Yuri Lowell!" She exclaimed, "I want to get to know you better! I want to be closer to you!" She took a breath, "I want to become Estellise Lowell! I LOVE YOU YURI LOWELL!"

"What?" Yuri gasped, "You love me?"

"Yes!" Estellise cried, "I understand if you don't feel the same way."

"Isn't Flynn a better choice for you?" Yuri said, "I mean I don't think having a princess marry a troubling making commoner like me would go over too well."

"I don't want Flynn!" Estellise exclaimed, "I want you…"

"I guess I could accept that," Yuri said.

"Congratulations! Yay! Way to go Yuri!" Raven exclaimed as he barged into the room banishing a thumbs-up at the surprised dark-haired man, "Yay!"

"What the hell Raven?" Yuri exclaimed, "Have you been listening the entire time?"

"Of course," Raven said, "And I'm not the only one."

As if on cue, Karol, Judith, and an irritated-looking Rita entered the room.

"What are you all doing here?" Yuri asked.

"For the record," Rita said, "I didn't want to be here. I was going to see if Witcher made any progress on finding alternatives for blastia but this idiot dragged me here."

"Well," Raven said, "When a boy and a girl who have chemistry are left alone, things are bound to happen."

"Yeah well, things are going to happen if you don't leave the two of us in peace!" Yuri said, "I feel like shit alright?" he coughed a bit, "And all I want is some peace and quiet so that maybe I won't feel like shit when I wake up tomorrow but with all these annoying little interruptions, who the hell knows when I'll feel better!"

"Take it easy Yuri," Estellise said as Yuri started coughing again.

Judith sighed, "Come on Raven," She said as she grabbed Raven by the ear, "We should really let Yuri rest. It's apparent that he's really not feeling well and with the blastia gone we need him to be in top form in case we need to fight."

"Alright fine," Raven said as he hung his head.

"What do you say to poor Yuri and Estelle for disturbing them?" She asked.

"Sorry Yuri…" Raven said, "Sorry Estelle…"

"Good boy," Judith said, "Come along now." She turned to Yuri and Estellise, "I'm sorry for all the trouble he caused. We'll leave you alone now."

Estellise waved good bye to Judith then turned to Yuri, "Are you alright?" she asked. Yuri had his arm slung across his forehead and his eyes were closed.

"No," He answered, "I'm gonna try to sleep. There should be a key either on the bookshelf or the table. Use it to look the door please. That way no one can barge in here again."

"Alright," Estellise said as she removed the cloth from Yuri's forehead and dipped it in some ice water then returned it, "Do you want me to get you some medicine?"

"You don't have to do that," Yuri said, "I don't like that stuff anyway, it tastes bad."

"You're such a little kid," Estellise said, "It'll help you feel better."

"I don't want it," Yuri said, "I don't like it."

"Alright fine," Estellise said, "Sleep well."

Estellise sighed as she continued to monitor Yuri. He had finally fallen asleep but he wasn't sleeping soundly at all. She really hoped that he would stay asleep, he had slept quite a bit that day but he still needed a good night's sleep if he wanted to feel better by morning. She turned to the window, it had begun to snow. She sighed as she remembered the promise that Yuri made to Karol.

"How about the next time it snows in Zaphias, we can play in the snow," Yuri had said, "Since Danghrest doesn't get any of the stuff."

Estellise glanced down at Yuri again and hoped that he would be able to keep his promise.

So what did you think? Yuri gets sick and Estelle takes care of him then she confesses her love for him, how cute. And I kinda figured thanks to one of the skits, that Yuri would be completely oblivious to what Estelle was trying to tell him. There are so many shipping possibilities in the game and I like all of them but I figured I would stick to Yuri/Estelle for this fic (sorry I can't figure out how to combine the names). Well until next time!

Ex-Shark-V-005