Disclaimer: Tales of Vesperia doesn't belong to me. Heh.

Choices

Flynn lowered his sword and pretended not to see Yuri and his friends pass by, despite the protests of his vice-captain. How many times had he done it? How many times did he plan to let Yuri run around freely, despite knowing that what he was doing – what they were doing – was wrong?

Yuri was wrong for secretly killing his enemies instead of letting justice take care of them, and the blond captain was wrong for letting his friend act with impunity.

His friend... Were they even still friends? Flynn could barely count the number of clashes they had had recently. It seemed that since the princess and all the other weirdos had tagged along with Yuri, the latter often found himself in tricky situations and was pushed to make the wrong decisions. At least, they were wrong for Flynn.

And yet, wasn't it because he still saw Yuri as his friend that he kept letting him pass, no matter how hard his arm was itching to raise his blade against Yuri's? 'Probably. I guess I'm just that weak when it comes to him.' They had grown up together, after all. After so many years spent side by side, one couldn't expect those two not to create a particular bond, no matter how twisted that bond was now.

Twisted. That was the only word which could describe their relationship. Because screwing your supposedly best friend whenever you had the opportunity wasn't really what could be called sane, was it? Between them, it was either fight or fuck, sometimes both. Twisted, really.

Both of them had chosen opposite paths; while Flynn had decided to remain among the Knights to serve the Empire, Yuri had preferred quitting their ranks, unable to submit to orders which were sometimes too unfair.

The young captain was almost certain that if their roles had been reversed, Yuri wouldn't have hesitated to stop him, even if it meant killing him. Because Yuri was much stronger-willed than him. A bitter smile graced his lips.

'Flynn, you're an idiot.' he thought to himself.

'Flynn, you're an idiot.' Yuri thought as he was resting at an inn with the others of his group, after escaping once more from Flynn. It was obvious that his friend was completely tortured between his duties as a knight and... and what? His feelings of friendship? 'Don't kid me. Flynn, you're stronger than that, aren't you?'

The long-haired swordsman rolled on the side on his bed, closing his eyes. He envied the others who were sleeping soundly and peacefully, without that unpleasant feeling gnawing him like poison. He was the one responsible for Flynn's dilemma, though he tried to deny it as much as he could; but that was the path he had chosen. If the Empire couldn't pass judgement on criminals, then Yuri would do it his own way, even if it meant becoming a criminal himself.

He only wished Flynn would understand him, even a little, but it was the same as asking for the sun to appear in the middle of the night.

'You're an idiot.' he thought, though he wasn't sure who he was referring to.

Whenever they crossed paths in a city, there were two main scenarios: either Yuri and his friends were in a hurry and would run past Flynn, or they had time to meet up and it would end up in one of the inn's rooms.

Like tonight.

Ruffles of sheets and faint gasps broke the silence. Yuri winced when Flynn entered him and his fingers clawed on Flynn's bare back. It was so much easier when none of them had to try and justify their acts, when they just had to meet each other's lust-filled gaze to know that they would spend the next few hours together, minds devoid of any 'knight duty' or 'unfair justice' or whatever was the cause of their usual arguments.

For now, they were only Flynn Scifo and Yuri Lowell, two anonymous beings who barely knew why they were even sleeping together.

The blond male thrust in, the other one gasped.

"Yuri..."

The called one barely heard his name whispered by those lips, those same lips which pressed against his, neither gently nor forcefully. Flynn was like that, balanced, never making any excess. He just kissed him because it seemed the most natural thing to do when he was in the same bed as Yuri. Yuri didn't mind – he never did – he liked it when they could pretend to act as if they were a normal couple, with no problem whatsoever.

He wrapped his legs around Flynn's waist, inviting him in, and the young captain answered his invitation immediately. When Yuri was lying under him and at his mercy, Flynn couldn't help but think he looked so vulnerable and, would he have not witnessed it with his own eyes, he wouldn't have been able to tell that the very same man was a murderer who pretended to kill for a good cause.

Of course many people were saved thanks to Yuri's actions, but it didn't change the fact that they were crimes, and it was Flynn's duty to stop him. 'Shit, here I go again...' Flynn mentally shook his thoughts off his head. He wasn't here to think about anything complicated, he was here simply to fool himself in the delights of Yuri's body. He loved it when the other boy clung to him desperately while letting out small gasps at each thrust, broken with repetitive 'Flynn... Flynn... Flynn...'

The latter kissed the boy's neck, sucking lightly on the warm exposed skin, satisfied to hear Yuri exhale in pleasure, completely surrendering to his embrace. If only Flynn could convince him to choose another path so easily...

Yuri slipped a hand in the blond locks then down Flynn's cheek then chin, his fingers brushing over Flynn's lips to part them. The blond boy took the fingers in his mouth, licking them while he kept ravishing Yuri's welcoming body; Yuri was panting while gazing with feverish eyes at Flynn, eyes that were telling him to take as much from him as he wanted.

Those were the only times when Yuri fully agreed to surrender to his dear friend; no matter how much they could argue, he always felt secure locked in Flynn's embrace. Those were the only times when he would admit that he wasn't as strong as what most people believed. He was even ready to bet that Flynn believed him to be strong.

'You're strong, Yuri. You, who has chosen to leave alone.' Yuri could never forget those words that Flynn had pronounced right before he left the Knights Order. It wasn't strength that had lead him to seek comfort in Flynn's arms, it wasn't strength that made him feel guilty whenever he crossed Flynn's path; even now, it wasn't strength that made him wrap both his arms around Flynn's neck, and it wasn't strength that made him call Flynn's name over and over again.

"Yuri... stop thinking so much..."

Hearing his name, he opened his eyes – when did he close them? – and looked at the one person who had the power to shake his resolve. Yuri smiled inwardly; it didn't surprise him that Flynn could read so well in him, they had spent their whole childhoods together after all.

A powerful thrust made him arch his back and ecstasy consumed him in an instant when both he and Flynn reached the pinnacle of pleasure. And in an instant it was over.

"Yuri..."

For some reason, he liked it a lot when Flynn called his name almost in a whisper. Two sapphire eyes were gazing at him as if expecting something from him. Whenever he looked into those eyes, Yuri couldn't help but admire how clear and bright they were, like two miniature lagoons of the purest water. The complete opposite of his own black eyes. It was as if their eyes reflected the purity of their souls. Yuri smiled weakly and pulled Flynn into a deep kiss. For now, he could pretend he was a good boy, couldn't he?

A few minutes later, both of them were lying on the side, Flynn holding Yuri tightly against him. None of them were sleeping. They never felt like sleeping after doing it. Yuri was content enough at the contact of their bare skins and though his eyes were closed, he was far from feeling asleep. Flynn's eyes were open, though. It was always the same. They could spend hours screwing and not caring about anything else, but as soon as it was over, Flynn's mind would start getting filled with doubts and questions.

Was it fine to continue like this? To leave Yuri keep walking that path of his? Who knew, someday maybe, he would be the one to be killed by him. Yuri wouldn't hesitate, would he? His heart sank at the thought, like always, and he tightened his embrace around Yuri unconsciously.

"Hey, Flynn..." It was rare for Yuri to start a conversation.

"What is it, Yuri?"

"... No, nothing. I just felt like saying your name."

"..."

We're both idiots.

"When are you going to kill me?" Yuri asked pretty casually after another night spent with Flynn. The blond captain didn't answer; instead, he merely sat up from the bed and headed for the bathroom. A minute later, the sound of water could be heard from where Yuri was. The latter sighed and gave a faint smile before falling back into the bed.

Flynn punched the wall, gritting his teeth. Even the lukewarm water pouring down on him couldn't cool down the anger he was feeling towards Yuri. Or was it towards himself? How the hell could that bastard ask him such a serious question with such a light tone? And how could he imagine even for a second that Flynn would actually kill him? Well, Yuri couldn't be blamed for believing it given the many times the captain had told him he'd stop him someday.

Yeah, but the problem was that Flynn was completely incapable of killing Yuri. Why? Because they were best friends, probably. Flynn rested both his arms and his forehead against the wall, letting the water run down his back; he was fooling himself, wasn't he? Among those two, it seemed that he was the only one to still think that their friendship would keep them from hurting each other. If he became too much of a hindrance, then Yuri would get rid of him like he had done with those other corrupted prosecutors.

'Yuri you idiot, I should have been the one to ask you that question.'

A knock on the door of the bathroom pulled him out of his thoughts.

"Hey, do you plan to drown yourself or something? Get out so I can have a shower too!" Yuri's voice rose from behind the door, making Flynn sigh.

"I'm almost done." he replied, but the door opened anyway to let a very naked Yuri – save for the towel over his shoulder – come in. "Yuri! I said I'm almost..."

"You're too slow. I'll take my shower while you finish yours. Come on, move a bit." the swordsman cut him in as he stepped in the shower. "Holy crap! It's cold!" he exclaimed right after, before turning on the hot water.

"Yuri..." Flynn sighed.

"Oh come on, don't act like an offended girl or something."

The blond male shook his head in resignation; Yuri's stubbornness wasn't something new to him after all.

"Fine, you win. I'm out of here." Flynn let out flatly, but as he was about to step out, Yuri's hand against his chest stopped him.

"You didn't answer my question earlier." the long-haired boy said.

"Because I don't have the answer to it, obviously." Flynn retorted. "Yuri, the last thing I want to do is to kill you, so stop doing things that'll eventually lead to it."

"You're asking for something impossible. As long as there are people like Ragou who are protected by the Empire, I won't stop. Flynn, you said you'd change the Empire from within and though you did change a few things, it's still not good enough."

Water kept pouring down on both of them and steam started filling the narrow place.

"I'll do it. That's what our captain wanted after all, remember?" Flynn replied, avoiding Yuri's gaze. "I don't know how long it'll take, but I'll do it."

"And until you succeed, I'll pass judgement my own way. Fair enough, right?" Yuri moved closer to Flynn, letting his fingers brush against the other man's chest.

"Yuri..." As expected, Flynn found himself unable to convey his point of view once again. "This isn't..."

"Shut up." Yuri cut him in as he leant slightly forward to bite Flynn's earlobe.

"You brought the topic..."

"Shut up and fuck me."

"Yuri! This isn't the place to..."

"Just do it already!"

And once again, Flynn yielded.

"You and Flynn look very close to each other." Judith commented as the whole party was walking in the middle of the woods.

"Do we?" Yuri asked with a chuckle. "I think we actually spend most of our time arguing than doing anything else."

"Yeah but whenever you talk about him, it sounds a lot like you're often worried for him!" Karol joined the conversation.

"And it's the same for Flynn." Judith added. "Remember when he sent you his personal officers? That's evidence enough that he is concerned about you."

"You don't need to remind me that..." Yuri replied.

"Hey, they saved us back then!" Karol protested.

"As I said, you don't need to remind me that..."

"Anyway, I keep saying you two care a lot for each other." the younger boy went on. "You remember what Flynn's vice-captain said? Oh crap, what was it again..."

"I don't understand why our captain sees you as his friend. He's an example for every knight here and yet, whenever you're around, he acts completely different." Judith quoted. "I think those were her words."

"She said that because she knows nothing of Flynn. He actually spends his time acting weird." Yuri shrugged, slightly annoyed.

"If you say so." Judith replied, chuckling.

Yuri kept silent, ignoring his friends' further comments on the topic. He wanted all this mess about the blastia, aer, apatheia and whatnot to be over so he wouldn't have to put Flynn into unpleasant situations anymore. Because friends weren't supposed to put each other into unpleasant situations, were they? Then again, Yuri wasn't really sure their relationship could be called 'friendship'. The bond between them was a bond which hurt them, instilling perfidiously an invisible poison that was doomed to kill both of them.

However, the one to die first had yet to be decided.

"Ngh... Flynn..." Yuri gasped, his back pressed against the wall of the room, most of his clothes still on. It seemed that lately, Flynn had become rougher, or less gentle, depending on the point of view. It was true that the captain never acted the same when it was only the two of them alone. On one hand, there was Captain Flynn Scifo, remarkable knight of the Empire and trusted by all his men; then on the other hand there was just Flynn, boy of the streets and brought up in the lower quarters of the capital city.

"Yuri... Am I hurting you?" the blond male asked huskily at Yuri's ear. He was deeply inserted between the other swordsman's legs and gave a sharp thrust in. Yuri's fingers clenched tighter on Flynn's and a gasp was his only answer. 'I am, aren't I? But you do the same to me so it's only payback.'

Yuri managed to smirk. "I'm not... ahh... a girl you know... You can't hurt me... that easily... ahh..." Then he pulled Flynn into a demanding kiss, shoving his tongue inside before the other man could react and biting his lips hungrily as if to prevent him from asking any other stupid question. Flynn barely hid his surprise under Yuri's sudden gesture, but replied almost immediately with a sharp move of his hips, making Yuri jolt a bit.

The latter wrapped his arms around Flynn's neck, not breaking the kiss at all, his whole being consumed by the passion with which the young captain was claiming his body. When Flynn hit his sweet spot, lightning ran through his body and he tightened himself around Flynn, letting out a loud gasp. The other kept hitting that same spot, drawing Yuri near his limits which he reached soon, staining both their uniforms. Flynn followed soon after, filling Yuri's insides with his seed while uttering a single name.

They didn't move from their spot for several minutes, until Yuri rested his chin on Flynn's shoulder and whispered at his ear:

"After you kill me, I'll be grateful if you could take care of Repede for me."

Yuri probably expected some various reactions from Flynn, but the last thing he expected was for the blonde to tighten his embrace around him and to whisper back:

"If I kill you, I don't think I'll be able to take care of him for you."

"Why?"

But the only answer Yuri received was silence. Flynn was grateful his friend couldn't see his sad smile right now.

Because I wouldn't be able to survive your loss.

It became a habit. Whenever they were seeing each other for more than a few minutes, Yuri would ask the fated question.

"When will you kill me?"

And though Flynn always managed to change the subject or give an evasive answer, each time he heard the question, another string would snap in him. The only explanation as for why Yuri could keep asking the question was that he didn't consider them to be anything close, despite all the years they had spent together. The thought was slowly devouring Flynn from inside, leaving a huge void instead; though he didn't want to admit it.

Yuri didn't know why he never stopped asking the question. Or maybe he did. Maybe he wanted to feel reassured every time Flynn wouldn't answer as if to give a false hope, but maybe he also wanted Flynn to say something, to say certain words that'd erase the unpleasant feeling he bore in him night and day, though he didn't want to admit it.

On that day though, it seemed that their patience had reached their very limits. They snapped. The tension between them burst out. Iron clashed against iron violently, the ground was filled with craters under their repetitive use of artes, and none of them seemed willing to give up. The aggressiveness that could be read on their faces made it clear it wasn't just a friendly training. They came at each other again and again, standing up again whenever they hit the ground and barely caring about their bleeding injuries.

It was time to settle everything that had piled up in their minds for years.

Now both of them were panting heavily, and the tip of Flynn's blade was pressing against Yuri's neck. The long-haired swordsman was standing with his head slightly tilted backwards, his trembling hand gripping at the handle of his sword and staring at Flynn with no fear.

"What are you waiting?" he panted. "Just finish me off already!" he snapped dryly.

But Flynn remained immobile, also panting, and unable to move his hand. It exasperated Yuri.

"What are you? A girl who can't make up her mind? That's a nice captain we have here! You've kept telling me you'd stop me, now is the perfect opportunity for you!"

Flynn's arm trembled a bit.

"Make a choice, damn it!"

They had spent their lives making choices, good or bad, it wasn't up to them to decide but at least they had never remained indecisive. People who can't choose lose automatically. And if Flynn wasn't going to choose now, he'd lose too.

As the sound of a sword dropping on the ground was heard and two arms wrapped themselves around him tightly, Yuri felt an invisible burden vanish from his mind.

'So that's your choice, Flynn? I made mine long ago.' he thought, surrendering himself to the captain.

End