Repede took one look at Judith and his finely-tuned canine senses told him it was time to go. He quickly bounded off towards the Zaphias gate, dragging Estelle with him.

"Repede, slow down!" Estelle cried as she was dragged away, leaving Judith and Yuri smiling as they ran off.

"I was worried about you, you know," Judith said over her shoulder as Yuri walked toward her, her voice the usual neutral tone she spoke with. "It's good to see you safe."

"Oh come on, you didn't actually worry about me, did you?" Yuri said with a laugh.

"Of course I did." Judith's voice was suddenly filled with a sincerity he'd never thought to hear. He thought she might have been teasing him again until she turned to look at him, a wounded expression painted on her face. "You think I'm joking?" She looked him straight in the eye, and their gazes locked.

Suddenly, Yuri couldn't find the words to reply. For a moment his ever-present smile was replaced by a look of genuine surprise; he'd never have expected a reaction like that from Judith. He couldn't help but continue staring into those beautiful rose-red eyes, and quickly forgot about the world around him.

Then, for a brief moment, he saw what she was trying to show him; the warmth in her eyes, normally kept hidden behind screen of indifference, away from the rest of the world. He had always assumed Judith was a pillar of control, her own feelings secondary to the mission she had taken upon herself. But here they were, bared in her eyes for all the world to see; specifically, for him.

It was then that he realized exactly how important he felt Judith's opinion was, and the fact that she was worried about him suddenly meant everything in the world to him. I've been taking her feelings for granted this whole time, he thought to himself, because she hides them so well it's easy to forget she has them. But she's willing to show them to me, willing to trust me with them...in truth, it reminded him a little bit of himself.

Then the moment had passed.

In typical Yuri fashion, he flashed his most winning smile and said, "you just missed me because you still have to prove you can fight better than me," his tone slightly sarcastic and playful.

He watched as the brief flash of emotion left those beautiful eyes, replaced by the carefree, happy Judith he was familiar with. The sarcastic smile that was by now so familiar on her face quickly returned as she picked up his playful banter.

"Maybe," she teased, "or it could be you had to come back to prove you're better than me." A look of haughtiness spread across her features. "Falling from the top of a mile-high temple wouldn't have bothered me one bit."

Yuri chuckled. "Heh, you caught me." He caught up to her and, as he walked by, his shoulder brushed against hers. In that moment a silent message passed between them, a message they both understood. He avoided looking at her face, for fear that he might lose control of his own. The unspoken words hung in the air between them. For one it was for revealing a trust; the other, for upholding it.

Thank you.

----

Just a slightly different take on events. Yes, I'm a fan of Yuri/Judith _.

I'm working on a longer work centering around the mystery woman that is Judith that I intend to incorporate this into, but I wanted to write this one down while it was bouncing around in my head and figured it made a good enough one-shot. Enjoy!