(A/N)- Part of a series of Tumblr fic prompts that were requested when I opened my askbox up for 'em.

I hadn't actually even finished playing the game when I got this one, SO AS YOU CAN IMAGINE I was super-nervous the whole time I was writing it. I think it came out okayish though.

Disclaimer: Tales of Vesperia is the property of Namco. All I own is a copy of the game. Which I still haven't finished. (Darn you electrical storm that wiped out all our electronics back in January!)

Blossoms

He shouldn't be so nervous. After all, the fact that Nan had even agreed to come with him was a positive sign, wasn't it? And after everything he'd been through, and how badly he'd failed to impress her or even just not disappoint her, shouldn't that be enough?

Still, he couldn't stop shaking. He was sure something was going to go terribly wrong. Maybe not a monster attack, oh no, he could handle something like that now, but maybe he'd say the wrong thing or approach her the wrong way and she would just blow up in his face like she'd done after the Dreaded Giant fiasco and an angry unhappy Nan was just about the worst thing he could imagine.

The fact that he could visibly see Estelle hiding in the bushes and waving at him, rooting him on, was not helping.

He'd begged Estelle not to come. Begged her. Pleaded with her. At the time she'd said, "Oh, of course!" with her trademark cheery smile and yet here she was, for "moral support" as she called it, smiling at him reassuringly and trying to whisper instructions at him.

Not that it did him much good from this distance. He couldn't even hear her over the rustling of the leaves.

Karol shook his head and tried to concentrate on his date. Nan hadn't said a word since they'd arrived, and that worried him. But when he looked up at her, all he could see on her face was joy. Sheer and utter joy. She gaped with wide eyes and an open mouth at the shower of soft pink petals falling from the high branches, her hands up by her chest, for once, completely at a loss for words.

He relaxed, the tension easing out of his shoulders. Nan liked it. She was happy. He gazed at her, just staring at her smile, her bright eyes, the wonder in her face.

"You were right, Karol!" she said, suddenly, starting him from his trance. Her hands drifted down to rest by her sides, but her head still tilted upwards towards the umbrella of blossoms above them. "It's beautiful…" she breathed.

A sudden thought came to him. It was cheesy, and probably really dumb, and he wasn't sure he was the type who could pull it off. Karol swallowed and just blurted it out anyway.

"Not as beautiful as you."

She turned and looked down at him with an odd expression and Karol flinched.

Oh, I knew it! What was I thinking? I'm not remotely smooth enough to make a line like that sound any good! he thought miserably.

Nan abruptly averted her face with a blush. "Wha-why are you saying it like that?" she stammered.

Karol looked up at her, a little more hopeful. She hadn't slapped him yet. That was good right? "Because, um…" His hand drifted up and rubbed the back of his head. Heat crawled across his face and his eyes were firmly on the dirt. What he'd thought to say next was almost cheesier than his first line. He called upon his courage to buck up and finish his sentence. "B-because… it's… true?" he offered hesitantly.

He could feel her staring at him and both he and Estelle from the bushes held their breath a long moment.

Nan laughed. It was a wonderful sound, girly and light, and Karol felt his heart explode into fireworks at it. Nan stepped over to him and put a hand on his shoulder, and he was sure she could hear his heart beating.

"You've changed, Karol," she said, smiling at him. "You've changed a lot."

He cracked a sheepish grin. "Only for the best, I hope?"

"Well, you don't quiver so much anymore, so yeah, I'd say you're doing pretty well," she commented, laughing again.

Abruptly she leaned down and Karol's mind nearly blanked out in a white haze as her arms wrapped around his neck and she hugged him.

"Thank you…" she whispered. "This is amazing. I'm so glad I could see this in person."

Should I… hug her back or something? he wondered dully. Vaguely, he felt himself put his own arms around her. She was softer than he'd imagined.

"Um… you're… y-y-you're welcome…" he coughed awkwardly.

Nan didn't pull back right away and Karol forcibly kick-started his brain back into operation with a shake of his head. He could see Estelle behind the fence, pink hair peeking out between the gaps of the bushes. She was sending him a thumbs up.

A grin spread across his cheeks and he held out his hand and returned the gesture, as Nan grabbed his other hand and started pulling him higher into town for a closer look.