Okay, sorry it took so long to update.

Link: You should be.

Shut up. I went home and had some good food! Yay! Happy Days for me!

Link: Yeah so?

You try living off of campus food for a year.

Link:...

Thought so. Anyway, have fun with this chappy! Do the disclaimer.

Link: She doesn't own Tales of Symphonia.

Genis and Presea

Two years. Wow. A certain mage thought as he strolled around the small Mithos tree. With the fragile care it received from Tabatha, or the Spirit of Mana, the once small plant of inch heigh, had grown at least two feet. A pale hand reached out tracing one small leaf. It was soft. Genis could sense the flow of Mana within the tiny tree. It was amazing that such a small creature could give off such a strong flow of Mana. Standing up, the half-elf trudged towards his sister and her lover.

Raine Sage, sat next to Kratos, an arm around her waist. The two were talking in hushed voices, both nervous and anxious. After the Mithos Tree had been planted, Lloyd, Colette, his sister, and himself had returned to their home town, only to leave for their separate journeys.

It had surprised him when they found Kratos standing outside the village at the beginning of their quest. It hadn't surprised Raine. Was he in for a startle, when the two kissed. It was a shock for him, and the small mage made a huge show out of it.

Sighing, Genis realized how immature he had acted two years ago. Anyway, the point was that Kratos and Raine had some important news for the others, when ever they got here. Tabatha tilted her head to the side before, "They are here." She stepped away from Kratos and Raine.

The three heard the distinct sound of Rehairds. Low and behold, six of them floated down on the outskirts of the Mithos Tree. During those years, small flowers had bloomed around the land, creating a blanket of color and fragrance. And of course, no one wanted to destroy the beauty of it. Carefully, Lloyd, Colette, Zelos, Sheena, Regal, and Presea made their way towards the four. It was an hour full of hugs, warm welcomes and story swapping.

It felt like family again, Genis thought. It surprised him how much he missed his friends. Once the greetings were out of the way, the group had fallen into the old habits. Lloyd was always the first to start a conversation. Colette immediately added something followed by Sheena's voice. Then Raine would correct one of them, and Zelos would flirt. Sheena would smack him in the head, and Presea would comment on Zelos' choice of words. Genis would snicker and make some remark about Zelos who would whine, Regal would attempt to keep Raine from smacking them all, Kratos would then talk with Lloyd, and Sheena would chat with Colette.

Yup. Everything was like old times. Not long afterwards, Genis slipped away. It wasn't that he wanted to be with his friends, it's just he wanted some space and time to think. Carefully, the half-elf wormed his way in the blanket of flowers. He turned around, and watched his friends.

They laughter echoed a bit and flew to his ears. Genis could easily pick out each of them. There was Lloyd's goofy chuckles, mingled in with Colette's over enthusiastic laughter. Then there was Zelos' carefree laugh, and Sheena's light giggles. He could hear Raine's rarely heard fits of laughter, and Regal's low chuckles. And he was sure Kratos was suppressing a few laughs. And then there was Presea's faint laughter.

The little mage enjoyed hearing them. It had been way too long, since their last meeting. That was for sure. He was very grateful that Kratos and Raine had sent those messages out to them, v.i. summon spirits. His sister had sent the batch of letters to Sheena and entrusted the summoner to send out the others, which she did.

Standing in the patch of flowers, the half-elf heard a squeal of delight coming from Colette and Sheena. His dark blue eyes watched as the two girls embraced his sister, while the guys gave their congratulations. Wait. "Where's Presea?" he asked.

"Here."

Jumping, the mage turned around and saw the spoken girl. "P-P-Presea!" He mentally kicked himself. During those two years, he had thought he had finally gotten rid of that ridiculous stutter. Guess not.

"Hello Genis," she smiled, then "why are you here alone?"

"Oh..." he swallowed. "I just wanted sometime to think. And watch you guys. I mean, I wanted to...this may sound silly, but I wanted to watch you guys and keep that memory with me...forever." He could feel his cheeks turn red.

"No. It's not silly. It's good for one to appreciate what they have now." The small girl walked closer to him. "How have you been?"

He smiled, a bit of his nerves relaxed. "Alright. Kratos, Raine and I were able to quench most of discrimination." a hand pushed back some silver bangs. "It was hard at times. Some villages wouldn't let us in or give us supplies." A frown formed on his face, "we were even chased out of five of them. Only one person had to remark on half-elves and the whole town would run us out. We missed a few of them. But over all it was somewhat successful."

The ax-wielder nodded. "You...weren't hurt were you?" Her chest constricted at the thought.

"...only some minor scratches."

"That's good." She felt relieved and walked closer to him. The two engaged into small talk, watching as their friends, and older companions, chat animatedly. During their talk, the half-elf found his eyes drifting more and more often towards the small flowers dotting the ground.

He knelt down, a hand grabbing the stem of one. Genis lifted the rose. He studied it, twirling it around between his thumb and finger. It was so beautiful. Pure white petals, with morning dew clinging to them, surrounded a lavender center. The half-elf concluded that being so close to a source of mana, namely the Mithos Tree, that the wild flowers were affected by the sudden overflow.

While the mage was studying the flower, Presea was studying him. How long had it been? Two years? She thought about it and wondered, where had the time gone? Again it had left her so quickly, there were no memories. Feeling less than annoyed and angered and sad, the ax-wielder returned her attention to Genis. The half-elf had gained height, which was common when years go by. He was now five maybe six inches taller than her, and she reached four foot three. By the way his clothing clung to him he was still as slim and lean as ever. He had taken a hold of the laying look. A pair of semi-loose pants hung around his legs, and above it was a pair of dark shorts. There was a tight fitting shirt and a long sleeve over coat, that was open with the leather buckle hanging. Her eyes fell upon exposed his chest. Blushing, as she noticed how nicely the clothing did cling to his body, Presea shifted her feet back and forth.

His hair had grown out some. Now it was past his shoulders, and slung in a loose ponytail. Her own hair had extended down to her mid back, and no longer did the ax woman were it in pigtails. Now it was in a braid. Of course, Presea had also out grown her old clothing. Not that it was a surprise, seeing as that she was pushing the limits of that gray dress as it was, of course it didn't matter as her current outfit was just as short. She had a dress ending just above her knees. It had bell sleeves that were elegant with the stitching in it. A simple cloth was wrapped around her slim waist, and knee-high boots covered her legs.

The mage glanced up at her, then walked closer. He placed it in her hair. "Here." A blush was upon his face. And he stood in thought for a minute. It's now or never. I'm going to make the first move. Just a quick one. Yeah. As the small mage assured himself, he never noticed Presea's decent. By the time, his mind did come back to the present, the girl was a inch from his face.

In a flash, she closed the small gap, her lips brushing against his. She pulled back, smiling. "Thank you Genis." A hand raised and touched the soft petals.

"...Y-y-our wel-lcome!" He stuttered out. Then, "Hey! I wanted to kiss you first!" The red in his face deepened, realizing what he had said.

Mentally thinking he was adorable when flustered, the ax-woman entwined her hand in his. "Come on Genis." Hand in hand, the two strolled towards the others. While walking, his hand in Presea's the half-elf whispered, "I love you, Presea." The statement was only for himself. For his ears alone, but the wind had carried his low voice to her.

Smiling, she whispered back, "I love you, Genis." And the wind shifted, carrying her words to him. And when they rejoined the group, the two had the purest smile upon their faces.

It's not as good as I thought it would be, but hey...if the readers enjoyed it then great!

Link: Uh huh...I want some good home cooking...(sniffle)

Oh fine...(Tosses some home cooking)

Link: Yeah!

Anyway, review!