I wrote this on a whim, after my muse decided to eat my brains out. XD Someone said Mommy Mikleo - Momleo. Then I just had to write this down. XD Please don't hate me.

Anyway, for the new year! Happy 2017 peeps!

Disclaimer:

I do not own Tales of Zestiria or any of the characters (minus the two OCs and the plotbunny) and therefore it belongs to its rightful owners. This is purely a work of fan fiction. ;)

Future Present

"Hey, are we lost?" Rose's question made Sorey flinch slightly, especially at the accusing tone underlying her words. Mikleo just nodded in defeat, Lailah sparing them all a small smile while Edna and Dezel kept their opinions to themselves. Thankfully. The brunette chuckled sheepishly as he turned to face his Squire, who had her arms crossed over her chest and an amused smile on her face. "Well?"

"We are." Mikleo answered for him. "Someone got too excited running onward and forgot to check which path we should take." The water seraph said with a sigh.

"Don't sell yourself short, Meebo. You were right behind him after all." Mikleo flinched at Edna's tone, giving the blonde a glare as she smugly grinned at him.

Lailah clapped her hands together before the teasing could escalate any further. "Well! It's alright! After all, you two can find a way out, right?" She asked, glancing between Sorey and Mikleo, who had pointedly decided to rake their eyes across the stone walls.

"Yeah."

"Probably so- hey. Sorey." Mikleo approached a small section of the wall, amethyst eyes shining with glee as his best friend came forward. The small section of the slab looked old, ancient, with weathered vines crawling across the surface. Gently brushing his fingers over the dirt, the two of them leaned closer to inspect the odd markings engraved on the wall. "It's written in the ancient tongue, but-"

"-it's too old to be deciphered. That's weird." Sorey finished, leaning back and pressing his fingers against his chin. "The entire ruin dates back to a few hundred years ago. This one seems like it could be from a thousand, if not more." He murmured, Mikleo nodding in agreement beside him.

"The age of the stones don't add up." He pressed his fingers against the dry stone once more. "And it doesn't feel like it was taken out from another ruin. Could it mean that this section was built first, excavated later and reconstructed? Why?" He asked, slipping deep in thought as Sorey once more tried to make out what the writings said.

Edna twirled her umbrella, unimpressed. "Nerds." She muttered, Dezel complaining quietly behind her while Rose and Lailah just exchanged glances.

"Well, they seem to find this exciting." Lailah said as the two began to converse about the out-of-place slab again.

Rose snorted. "It's just an old slab of rock, actually. I'm more concerned with how we could get out." She said.

"That's right, but these idiots kept getting sidetracked by their little sightseeing trip." Dezel agreed. Lailah frowned.

"Now, now, I think it's alright every now and then." She said, aware of how the two began to argue loudly about one of the words written. "A break is alright." The fire seraph was very willing to let the two indulge, glancing over at them to see that Mikleo was gesturing something with his hands, repeating a few words that, unfortunately, was making Sorey a little competitive himself.

"I'm telling you, it's not translated to 'shepherd', it's 'leopard', which is a big difference." He said, pointing towards the small indent he was reading aloud. Sorey shook his head.

"It's 'Shepherd'. Capital, proper noun. And it's attached to a name. So this must be one of the old shepherd's true name. Don't you see? It could be centuries old." He said, leaning back to closely analyze the slab. Mikleo crossed his arms and frowned, glancing at the walls.

"Even if it is pertaining to a shepherd, it doesn't say which, who or what age. It's merely- wait, look at this!" He said, reaching to brush his fingers against another old-looking slab. "There's more. That's weird." He stepped back, observing everything from a farther perspective. "Huh… There are patches of the wall that are more brittle than the others. That…" He furrowed his brow, leaning back slightly. It didn't make sense. "Maybe if we figure out who this ruin is for. It doesn't feel like Maotelus or… well, any of the other Seraphs." He concluded.

Their companions watched with a mix of amusement and disdain at the enthusiasm of the two as they continued looking for clues. Edna twirled her umbrella, wanting nothing more than to take down that wall. "How long is this going to take?" She asked, loud enough to pop the invisible bubble that had been holding the two in their own world.

Sorey gave her a sheepish grin. "Sorry, sorry, but I think after reading this, you might be interested." He said, earning a snort from Edna and a curious glance from Mikleo. The water seraph stepped forth, humming slightly as he read the slab before blinking in surprise, leaning forward to read it again and then blinking at Sorey.

"It's… " He paused, looking at Sorey's easy grin with a surprised one. "It's your name." He finished, feeling more surprised when a brief glance told him all he needed. "It has everyone's name… But that's impossible! This is a myria years old." He said. Rose blinked.

"In commonfolk terms?" She asked, Edna gave her a side-glance.

"He meant it's more than a few thousand years old." The Earth seraph said blandly.

"I wonder… Was it predestined? Like, a prophecy?" Mikleo muttered after a while, Sorey nodding along with him.

"Probably. But then, that would be a little weird, won't you think, and a bit creepy too." He said, reaching forward to touch the slab gently once more when he felt his throat constrict and a shudder pulse through his system. The once clean walls were now dark, malevolence filling the entire chamber. It wasn't strong, but the domain was there. He stepped back in surprise, glancing around him in alarm. Rose shuddered slightly, and Mikleo looked sick. Edna and Dezel looked rather disturbed by the sudden presence of the domain while Lailah looked around. "When did this get here?"

"It's not that powerful, but it's powerful enough to be warranted attention." She concluded. Sorey nodded, griping his blade a little tighter. The faint sound of roaring met their ears and for a moment, Edna flinched.

"Was that a dragon?" She asked. Lailah shook her head.

"A drake."

They heard a loud yell come from the hall to the left, followed by another roar. Wasting no time, Sorey ran towards the source of the sound, feeling the malevolence tickle under his skin, thwarted away but still gripping on. He scowled. The hall ended in a big dome, sunlight peeking in from above. He could feel the malevolent presence retreating, before he jumped back. "Above!" He yelled, taking a step back when the drake came into view.

It wasn't as big as the one they fought in Marlind, but it was still sizable. Dusky scales glinted maliciously in the light as it circled the top of the dome, trying to get out into the light. Its wine colored eyes were darting from left to right before fixing on the small group near the entrance of the hall. With a loud roar, the drake flapped its wings, charging straight at them. Sorey grit his teeth. "You ready Mikleo?" Rose took a step back, bringing out her daggers as the water seraph nodded.

"Luzrov Rulay!"

As their bodies merged into one. Sorey lifted his bow, aiming to hit the foul beast charging headfirst at them. "Leave the aiming to me." Mikleo's voice resounded in his head and he nodded in consent. "Now!" As the shot fired, Sorey noticed a small figure jump in front of the arrow, and he barely had any time to yell before their attack was split into two, followed by the soft thud of a body and the drake hastily retreating into one of the caverns behind it, wailing loudly. The air seemed to clear for a moment as the two of them separated, before Sorey ran forward to the small figure lying on the floor.

"Hey." He said, shaking the child's shoulder. The boy was small, wearing a dark blue longsleeved shirt and brown pants. A white cloak rested on his shoulders, the hood off, exposing a fluff of white locks tied loosely in a ponytail. The child had such delicate features that for a moment, Sorey was frightened that he had killed the child. "Lailah." He asked, looking towards the eldest in the party. She glanced back at him worriedly while Mikleo began to rummage their bag. He glanced back at the child and gently laid him on his back.

"Serves him right for jumping in front of an arrow like that." Edna stated, not fighting back when Lailah quickly chastised her. Dezel frowned.

"He's still alive. No need to get so worked up." He told them as Rose kneeled opposite of the boy, leaning her ear towards his mouth. True enough, he was still breathing. She noticed the feather earring on one of his ears, before blinking a little as Mikleo knelt beside Sorey, a Life Bottle in his hands.

"Is it just me, or does the kid look like Mikleo?" She pointed out, causing the said seraph to blink before pressing his lips together in thought.

"He does, actually, now that you mention it." Sorey said, glancing between Mikleo and the small child. Both had similar hair colors, with the same shade of paleness, not to mention, he was sure that was how Mikleo was built back when they were children. Except the face of course. There was something different about the face. He hummed, watching the water Seraph administer the medicine to the child. Everyone had gathered around the boy now, waiting the boy to wake up.

"Hmm. A mini Mikleo. Minikleo." Edna said, earning a scowl from Mikleo before their attention was returned to the boy when he coughed.

His eyelids fluttered weakly before the boy shot up, coughing loudly as he held his throat, narrowly colliding foreheads with Rose, who leaned in to check if he was still breathing. "Woah there, kid. You alright?" She asked, raising her hands up at him. A flash of green and she found an arrow aimed at her nose.

"Stay back!" The boy said, green eyes narrowed in suspicion as he leveled the tip of his crossbow at her nose. The young Seraph was obviously a little spooked, until Sorey pushed Rose aside with a firm frown.

"Put that down." He said sternly.

They watched those green eyes widen in surprise, before shifting to confusion as he struggled to decide what to do. Finally, after a minute, he hung his head and the crossbow disappeared. With the danger gone, everyone let out a soft breath as they observed the small child, who looked around nervously, glancing at their faces before fixing those wide, green eyes on Sorey and Mikleo. Probably still intimidated by the stern looks he was being given, mostly from Mikleo's end, he bent his head. "S-sorry." He muttered.

Mikleo sighed. "You should be careful next time. You could've killed Rose with an attack that close." He scolded lightly, watching the boy flinch a little. Immediately, he felt bad. While he never really liked dogs, the poor seraph looked like a kicked puppy and he didn't have the heart to stay angry as the boy muttered another apology.

"It's alright. Are you okay?" Lailah asked, bending down to pat the boy's head, watching him close one eye and smile sheepishly at her.

"Mmm. I'm okay. It was just a scratch." He said, dusting his hands as Sorey extended a hand to him.

The Shepherd smiled. "Sorry about shooting you. What's your name?" He asked, earning a snort from Dezel.

"Shouldn't you be asking why he was protecting a drake?" The wind seraph corrected, missing the way those green eyes stubbornly glared at him. The child seraph crossed his arms and turned his nose up, in a fashion much similar to someone they know. All eyes immediately glanced at Mikleo, who seemed somewhat amused himself.

"Why should I let you kill my brother, mister tophat?" He quipped, earning a growl from Dezel as Edna narrowed her eyes. The story was a little familiar. "I'm Mio. That drake you tried to kill was my older brother Sora." He said puffing up his chest with pride, and Lailah covered her mouth in order to suppress the smile with how adorable the child was acting. He stood tall, proud and brave, like he was telling them he got a gold medal or something. It was quite the charm attached to his personality. Shaking her head, her face settled into a more serious expression.

"Mio, could you tell us what happened?" She asked, noticing him slowly drop his hands to his sides. Sorey realized that that form was a little too familiar. He scooted closer, just in time to see small trails of tears slip past the boy's chin.

"Congratulations, Lailah. You made Minikleo cry." She deadpanned. Mikleo decided to ignore the jibe as he knelt down in front of the boy, making soft hushing motions as Sorey patted Mio's back. Edna rolled her eyes. "And now, you see Mommy Mikleo in his natural habitat. Momleo." Dezel snorted a little at that, while Rose covered her mouth to hide a laugh as the two tried to console the crying child. Thankfully, the two decided to ignore the jab in favor of getting the story out of the sobbing young one.

"It's okay. Tell us what happened." Sorey urged softly.

Mikleo nodded. "Come on, the sooner you've talked, the faster we'll be able to deal with the situation." He said, voice soft as Mio padded at his eyes.

"We-we… Papa said not to go. But. But. I wanted to go." He whimpered in between sobs. "Then Sora fe-fell down the hole and-and. Mama told us we shou-shouldn't go anywhere. It's my fault." He wailed, and they looked at each other in confusion. Rose hummed softly, surprisingly able to piece together the story from the brokken sobs of the small seraph.

"So let me get this straight," She began, the boy meekly looking up at her. "I'm assuming your parents told you and your brother to stay away from the ruins because there was danger lurking in it, but you wanted to explore." Hmm… That story sounded familiar too. The boy bit his lip and guiltily nodded. "Unfortunately, your brother fell into a hole filled with malevolence and got turned into a drake, so now, you're trying to save him and you're blaming yourself. That about right?" She asked. Mio nodded once more, lower lip trembling slightly.

Mikleo sighed. "Still, I think you shouldn't go against your parent's orders like that, you wouldn't have landed in trouble otherwise." He said, standing up and patting the boy's head. Sorey grinned, Mikleo meeting his gaze and snorting. "Actually, that sounds like someone I know." He added. Mio's eyes lit up a bit as he wiped away the remnants of tears with his sleeves.

"Papa said I got his and Mama's adventuring spirit." He said, a little excitedly. "Although he said I should wait a little more if I wanted to go exploring because it's dangerous and stuff." He said dejectedly. "Mama says he'd be happier if I was more responsible with things." He added. Mikleo blinked, about to pose a question but Rose beat him to it.

"Wait, did you say 'he'? I thought your mom was a girl." She pointed out. Mio looked up at her before tilting his head curiously.

"Sora and I were adopted by mama and papa when we were babies." He said, Rose letting out a soft 'Oh' of understanding. Before he could add more, however, there was a loud roar from the end hall, and Mio flinched. "This way!" He said, yelling at them before he took off, a blur of silver quickly vanishing in the hall.

The group blinked in surprise before rushing after the child. "You can't even leave him alone or he'll wander off. He's almost just like you, Sorey." Lailah noticed, the six of them running as the hall grew wider and wider before coming to a dead end. The drake was there, backed up against the wall while Mio was talking to it. Sorey realized the boy was speaking in ancient tongue.

"Mio, get away. We'll deal with it." The drake's wine-red eyes flittered up towards them before it snarled, tail reaching out and pulling the seraph child behind it with a loud cry. Sorey advanced slowly before the beast charged at them, teeth unsheathed.

Vaguely, he could hear Mio in the background, and a flash of green had him momentarily distracted as the boy conjured two handheld crossbows, a hybrid of a pistol from the looks of it, and began shooting at the sky. Mana arrows rained down on the beast as Rose jumped in, slashing at the drake's head. Mikleo sent torrent after of water at the drake while Lailah began setting its tail ablaze. The brunette ducked, narrowly missing the tail aimed at his head before charging. His blade hit flesh and the drake staggered back, letting out a pitiful wail before collapsing on its side.

"Sora!" At once, the white haired child seraph was on his brother's side, watching the malevolence leave the drake as a small body replaced the monster's own. "Sora! Sora! Wake up!" Mio whined, shaking his brother's shoulder as the rest crowded around, Mikleo once more fishing for a life bottle as Sorey fixed the boy into a better position.

Up close, the boy had downy brown locks, messed against his slightly tanned skin. He was probably a year or so older than Mio, Sorey observed. Like the other boy, he too had a feather earring on only one ear, with an outfit somewhat similar to Mio's, minus the cloak. As Mikleo tilted the life bottle's contents into Sora's mouth, he watched as Mio began to cry again, sniffling slightly until the boy sputtered awake, choking on air for a moment before cringing and laying down again. "My head hurts." He muttered.

"I'm surprised that's the only thing that hurts." Mikleo said sternly, watching the boy's eyes flutter open. They were a deep amethyst, much like his own, and he chose to ignore the curious glances the others were sharing.

Sora nodded. "Yeah. Sorry about that." He mumbled quietly, before turning to his brother's crying face. "Come on, let's go home before mom realizes we're missing and starts throwing a fit." He joked, before glancing at Rose. The boy blinked. Rose blinked back. He blinked again, before his eyes widened and a finger was pointed excitedly under her nose. "Hey. She looks like Wi-Mhhmph!" Mio immediately covered his mouth, giving him a teary-eyed glare. Removing his hand, he stared at his brother before Sora seemed to get the message and let out a soft 'Oh' of understanding.

"What?" Rose asked, tilting her head. "Is there something on my face, kid?" She asked. Sora shook his head a little too fast.

"N-no! My apologies! I mean, you look a lot like someone my parents knew." He said, glancing away suspiciously. Helping himself on his feet, he looked around at the unfamiliar faces. "Wow. I never thought I'd see them in person." He told his brother, grinning. "The stories do them justice alright. I mean." He glanced at Edna. "She doesn't seem very different." The earth Seraph scowled.

Mio laughed, wiping the tears with his right hand, the other gently clutching the back of his brother's shirt. "You're creeping them out." He said. Sora paused before nodding, obviously hiding the wince that tacked his body. The boy was heavily injured, but it seemed like he was used to getting roughed around, and was taking the pain all in stride.

"I'm Sora, but you already know that." He said, cheerfulness exuding from his body. Mikleo smiled at the sight before they felt another presence approach. Hastily, the boys stood up. "Quick! Hide!" He hissed, and Mikleo wasted no time enveloping the entire party in a bubble, except the two children jumped out in the open. Mikleo was about to pull them in when another figure stepped in through the hall, causing his mouth to drop and Sorey to stare in absolute surprise.

"You kids." The figure said, amethyst eyes narrowed slightly. His staff, once in a defensive position, relaxed to his side before it disappeared in a flash of blue light. The Seraph looked ethereal under the dim light, with silvery ringlets tied atop his head, cascading down to his shoulders. His physique was slender, almost enough to be mistaken for a female's if not for the definitely masculine features of his shoulders. Still, he was beautiful. Mikleo swallowed as the long haired seraph approached the two boys, who were guiltily looking away. "You had us worried. Your father was already assuming the worst when we felt strong malevolence in this area." He scolded, crossing his arms. Sorey's breath hitched.

"Mikleo. He looks just like you. Only…"

"Only his hair's longer and he's definitely older than Meebo." Edna finished, earning a scowl in her direction. They quietly watched in fascination as the older Seraph scolded the two young ones, giving them both a generous rant, before he sighed in defeat and rubbed his forehead.

"Seriously… What am I going to do with both of you?" He muttered, lacking bite as he sighed and gave both boys a hug, causing Mio let out a sob and Sora to sputter apologies for worrying him. The beautiful seraph hushed them softly. "It's alright. Just try to tell us before you want to go exploring next time, okay? It's been getting dangerous lately, and you shouldn't worry everyone like that." He added. Just then, he looked over in their direction, causing Mikleo to flinch and Sorey to avert his eyes. "Thank you." He murmured, nuzzling his son's hair as another voice yelled from behind him.

"Mikleo! Did you find them?!" Eyes turned to look at the new arrival, with his long brown hair tied up in a high ponytail and still managing to reach past his hips. Those green eyes were unmistakable though and Sorey found himself looking at an older version of himself. Older-Sorey glanced at the boys and let out a relieved sigh, wrapping them both in hugs that caused another round of tears from Mio and more apologies from Sora. "You guys gave your mom a heart attack! He was really flipping his lid! He even told Edna off! You boys!" He scolded, not noticing both Mikleos flush at the banter. Edna snickered.

"Momleo."

"Shut up."

Pulling away from the kids, and looking far more relieved this time, the older Sorey looked at Mikleo, smiling softly at the long haired Seraph. "Let's go home?" He asked, turning back to the children when they began to protest. "You two are grounded from ruin-exploring for a week. No buts." He said firmly, watching the children deflate. He glanced towards Mikleo once more and the water Seraph nodded in approval.

"I'll catch up. I need to see if there's still something left behind." Long-haired Mikleo said with a soft smile. Sorey nodded, pressing a kiss to his lips,taking the chaste peck into something more of a liplock until Sora groaned in protest, before walking off with the children, a commentary about the ruin walls already leaving his lips as both boys listened intently. Seeing their older versions so… domestic had both teens flushing a deep shade of red as Edna began to mutter a series of family puns Mikleo's way. Clearing his throat, the older Mikleo spoke. "Follow the hall back to the left, and next time, do us all a favor and try not to read the inscriptions out loud?" He called over his shoulder, before walking off. Only to pause just as before he completely disappeared from sight. "Oh, and Edna? One word about this and I'm taking your umbrella in the future." He warned, disappearing into the hall.

The bubble popped around them as silence settled on the group. Lailah was the first to break the silence. "Did your future self just threaten Edna?" She asked Mikleo, who swallowed numbly. Sorey exhaled softly while Edna blinked, seemingly still surprised by the threat. Rose guffawed.

"Oh man! If I'm not so confused right now, I'd say you two make a cute couple! Funny how I never really noticed it before." She said, watching Mikleo look away as Edna scowled.

"Stay away from my umbrella, Momleo." She warned. Mikleo scowled. Dezel suppressed a snigger and Sorey sighed.

"It all makes a bit of sense now… Though I never knew there was a force strong enough to throw you into the future." He murmured, everyone else seemingly deaf to his conclusion as they began to poke fun at the red-faced Mikleo. He glanced at his best friend, taking note of how he jumped away from Edna's jabs and told Rose off. "Hmmm…" He narrowed his eyes. "Hey Mikleo, does this mean you and I got married in the future?" He asked, causing everyone to stare at him incredulously. Mikleo blinked at him with surprise evident on his face, before that look of surprise morphed into something similar to embarrassment. "I mean, we always did say we want kids after we got married, but to think that it's actually a rea- Hey! Don't hit me!" He yelped, dodging the jabs to his ribs. Mikleo's face was burning red as he continued his attacks.

Lailah smiled. "Well… at least we can say that the future looks bright for them." She concluded.

Suckish fic sucks. XD

I've been craving some Domestic Sormik so this happened. By the way, funny story, I was muttering something about wanting Sormik and people thought I said Soymilk. AyJay gets what AyJay wants. XD

Anyway, R&R? Tell me what you think? ;)