A/N: Final chapter of what was originally supposed to be a drabble. Yuri does not have a romantic bone in his body. It's a good thing my version of Flynn doesn't seem to mind.

I was going to try and finish an essay on my interpretation of Yuri's character before I posted the end of this story, but then I figured that if anyone disagrees with my interpretation it's because they've got their own or because I didn't expand on the context clues well enough, so there's not much point in explaining. Oh, well. I may pop it up on my Tumblr if I finish it, anyways. Because I'm a nerd.

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

To his credit, Flynn didn't ask if he would be back.

He wanted to. He was afraid he might have pushed too far, but he had to trust Yuri, had to believe he would return. They didn't have anything if they couldn't trust each other.

So he waited, one day, then two and three. He kept himself busy to avoid thinking and drowning that small hope that everything would work out for the best. It wasn't easy.

Working with Sodia was particularly difficult as he couldn't help but remember how violently opposed she had been to his orders concerning Yuri. She justified herself by calling him a criminal and a murderer and Flynn said nothing because he couldn't refute those words. When she moved on to insults, he dismissed her for the day and she actually ignored him and continued spewing abuse until he threatened to suspend her from duty. There was something between those two and one day, when it wasn't too tiring to think about Yuri, he was going to find out what it was.

On the evening of the fourth day after Yuri had confronted him about his lie, Flynn returned to his room after dinner to find his friend waiting for him. He paused just inside the door, then shook off his surprise and went about stripping off his uniform.

"Good evening, Yuri. You are more than welcome to use the main entrance."

"Your knights look at me funny when I do," he muttered.

Flynn laughed. He couldn't help it. "You've been antagonizing them for years. Of course they're going to look at you funny if they think you're sleeping with their Commandant."

"What are you gonna do when that starts affecting their conduct?"

It was a challenge, no mistake, and Flynn met it with one of his own. "The next time you break the law, I will come and arrest you personally. You have my word on it."

"This doesn't mean I'll hesitate to handle a problem my way if you can't solve it."

"I'll just have to make sure it doesn't come to that, then."

"And if it does? Ioder and Estelle may not pardon me again, Flynn. They shouldn't have done so in the first place. If this is going to be a just world, you can't make exceptions, even for me."

"Yuri…."

"Swear it." Yuri had closed the distance between them until they were no more than a deep breath away. Flynn met his gaze steadily. "I mean it, Flynn. You can't put this," he gestured to the two of them, "before the world. You can't compromise for me or for anybody. Swear it to me."

"All right." He placed a fist over his heart. "I swear it."

Dropping his gaze from Flynn's, Yuri sighed. He seemed to deflate. Standing there, he looked tired.

"You look like you lost a battle," Flynn said quietly.

His smirk was bitter, rueful. "I've been fighting this for a long time." He stretched suddenly, expression easing to something more peaceful. "Guess I lost to you again."

Flynn reached out, ran a hand through long, black hair that reminded him of raven's wings.

"I'm not quitting Brave Vesperia."

"I wouldn't ask you to."

"It means I'll be gone a lot. I'm not gonna be sitting around in the lower quarter waiting for you to drop in."

"Heaven forbid. I'd rather you visit me here when you're in town, anyway. My bed is much more comfortable."

Yuri looked at him sharply at that, laughed shortly, and reached down to toy with the soft bed sheets.

"Fortune's Market offered us a job. We're leaving tomorrow."

That was a bit more sudden than Flynn had expected. "So the reason you came here tonight was to let me know you'd be gone?"

For a moment, Yuri stared at him, considering. Then, heaving a sigh, he shook his head, grabbed Flynn by the collar, and pulled him in for a kiss.

It was sloppy and wet and wonderful and left Flynn feeling a little dazed when Yuri eventually pulled away. He was smirking and Flynn watched him lick his lips, following the movement as if mesmerized.

"Been wanting to do that for years," Yuri murmured, and Flynn heard the echo of his own words that night outside The Comet.

Yuri would leave and return, Flynn would be kept busy with his own work until he could steal a few hours off. Whatever might happen, they had that night, and they had the rest of their lives to find more nights, more moments together that maybe would be filled with something more important than arguing.

They kissed again, fell together onto the bed, and Flynn knew somehow that they would make this work. They were both too stubborn to do anything else.