A/N: Thank you for reading. Hope you enjoyed the story. =) Special thanks and appreciation to Daffy for always taking time to review!

Disclaimer: The characters in this story are from Tales of Vesperia and do not belong to me.

|Sorry. I can't make it to dinner tonight.|

Yuri stared down at the text he'd just received from Flynn, then abruptly tossed his phone aside onto the kitchen counter. He had to remind himself not to punch the cabinet door. He didn't want to have to ask Estelle's parents to replace another one. Instead, he lifted the lid to the crock pot to check the roast. He didn't really see it even as he leaned over and breathed in the familiar smell. It was one of Flynn's favorites, and he'd known it was on the menu. Obviously, he wasn't just busy. He was avoiding Yuri.

They had defeated the Adephagos early Monday morning, and Yuri hadn't seen Flynn since he and Karol had left his apartment later that day. Flynn hadn't said a word as they left, and Yuri couldn't really blame him. He had to be pissed.

After that, he'd let Flynn have his space. He hadn't tried to talk to him the rest of Monday, or on Tuesday or Wednesday. Finally, he'd gotten tired of the cold war between them and had texted him on Thursday morning with a peace offering of pot roast. That had been hours ago though, and Flynn was only just getting back to him. It was almost enough to make Yuri want to just give up and crawl into bed. Only the knowledge that Flynn wouldn't hold a grudge forever got him back to the couch where Karol was sitting, watching a movie and trying to finish up his homework during commercials. Repede laid his head on Yuri's knee and sighed happily when he got a scratch between the ears. It was a nice, normal, peaceful night…except for the fact that Yuri's best friend currently hated him and might be having some problems directly related to a hasty and unnecessarily dramatic confession that Yuri was really beginning to regret. He was starting to lose hope that this was the sort of problem that could be solved by trading a few punches. With a sigh, he ran his hand through his hair and admitted to himself that he'd fucked up pretty badly this time.

Friday morning was busier than usual in the convenience store, and Yuri was backed up at the register when Flynn walked in. They locked eyes and he froze for a moment. Although he could tell that Flynn was willing to wait until the line died down, Yuri called Hachette over anyway. He had enough pride to at least finish ringing up the sale he'd been in the middle of—he didn't want to look desperate, after all—but he was more than ready to deal with everything that stood so awkwardly between them.

Wordlessly, Flynn followed him behind the counter and down the short hall that led to the back exit. They stepped out into an empty alleyway and Yuri stood to the side, leaning one shoulder against the old brick building. He studied Flynn out of the corner of his eye, looking for any clue as to which way things were going.

"How did Karol do on his test?"

"He passed."

Barely, but he wasn't about to tell Flynn that and let guilt interfere in whatever he had to say. No matter what decision Flynn had come to over the past few days, this was between the two of them. Karol had nothing to do with it.

"That's good." They fell quiet again and Flynn fiddled with the cuffs of his coat sleeves. "I've been talking to the others," he said, abruptly. "I wanted to hear the full story, since you hadn't seen fit to tell me. I assume you had your reasons…?" He sighed when Yuri didn't bother trying to justify himself. "Were you serious when you kissed me?"

The question shouldn't have been so unexpected. Flynn always had been direct. It was just…he'd assumed that the kiss would have been enough for him to get it.

"What do you want me to say, Flynn?"

He nodded a little, as if he understood. "I haven't given you an answer."

"I wasn't looking for one." He pushed away from the wall and started for the door. "Listen, I've got to get back to work, so—"

"Yuri…!"

Glancing back, he caught the fingers of Flynn's outstretched hand curling in as he hesitated. He probably hadn't meant to call out. It was probably just bothering him that he knew he had to let Yuri down, had to admit he had feelings for Estelle and that Yuri was nothing more than a good friend. Yuri didn't want to hear it any more than Flynn wanted to say it. He was turning back to the door when Flynn caught his shoulder, spun him around, and kissed him.

It was brief, nothing more than a quick press of lips, and then Flynn was taking a step back, a lopsided smile on his face and a hint of pink in his cheeks.

"Just so you know," he said, and all Yuri could do was stare, slack-jawed and speechless.

Technically, Yuri was not supposed to be on the roof of the apartment building, but Estelle's parents had never asked him to return the key he'd conveniently acquired, and it had become something of a haven for him. He was sitting on the edge, staring out over the glittering city gilded by the light of the setting sun. Behind him, he heard the roof access door open and shut. He didn't look back, even as he heard footsteps drawing closer. He knew who it was.

"I got your message." Carefully, Estelle took a seat next to him. "What is it you want to talk about?"

He'd been turning this conversation over in his head since shortly after leaving work, and he hadn't come up with any way to broach the subject except to cut straight to the point.

"Flynn and I are going out."

"Congratulations!" She sounded genuinely happy for him, and he looked over to meet her eyes, surprised.

"You don't mind?"

Her smile faded a little around the edges. "So, you were worried about that. I wasn't sure, and since you never said anything about it, I didn't want to bring it up in case I was wrong." She turned her eyes back out over the city. "I'm not Estellise and Flynn isn't Fionn. You aren't Vesperia, either. We all have our own lives to live. I'm sorry. I should have spoken up sooner. I thought maybe you wanted to let Flynn keep his normal life for the same reasons I did."

"So, you knew."

"About your feelings for Flynn?" She giggled. "I think most people did. Part of the reason that my parents are so comfortable asking you to look out for me when they're out of town is that they've seen the way you look at me, and they've seen the way you look at Flynn. You aren't as subtle as you think." Hiding his face, Yuri groaned as she laughed. "I think they were more worried about letting me have Rita stay over."

Quiet settled between them. It felt strange to think that suddenly, after weeks of things going all sorts of wrong, everything might be going right. He needed to be sure.

"So, everything's okay?"

She smiled at him, one of those big, happy smiles that crinkled up the corners of her eyes and could make him feel better no matter what sort of mood he was in.

"Yes," she said. "Everything is wonderful."

Yuri sighed and looked away, relaxing as he and his sister watched the sun set over the city.