During game one shot set during the second game at a point when Colette, Emil and Marta are in the party.

Dedication: for Zelda Master/Arctic Husky. Crazily belated birthday fic. ^_^; I hope that it amuses you.

Disclaimer: I don't own Tales of Symphonia. I believe that it belongs to Namco.

As Colette surveyed the pile of items she'd taken out of her bag she giggled slightly and scratched the back of her neck.

"I guess maybe I do carry a few things around that I don't really need, maybe you were right Tenebie," she said.

"Keep tipping things out of the bag, I want to see what type of kitchen sink you're carrying around in there," Tenebrae replied.

"Tenebrae, don't be so mean," Emil glared slightly at the Centurion before thanking Colette for the gel she'd passed him, the item she'd been looking for that had caused her to tip the contents of her bag out.

"But I don't have a kitchen sink with me, it'd be pretty useless without the rest of the kitchen," Colette frowned, confused.

"And this, for example, is useful?" Tenebrae asked as he held up a small pebble.

"Yes, it is, Lloyd gave it to me, it's pretty and it makes me smile," Colette replied with a content look on her face before placing the pebble back into her bag.

"What about this, it can't possibly have any practical use." The Centurion said as he passed her a feather.

"It does, you can tickle people with it," Colette laughed as she moved forward and began to tickle Tenebrae under the chin.

"Centurions aren't ticklish," Tenebrae said in a rather bored tone.

Colette shrugged and passed the feather to Marta who had been admiring it. The younger girl smiled then leapt towards Emil, tickling him with more success than Colette had had with Tenebrae.

"See," Colette smiled. Tenebrae rolled his eyes.

"This is useful too, this is the brush I brush Noishe's fur with," Colette said as she held the brush up for Tenebrae to see.

"But Noishe's not here," he replied.

"No," Colette said sadly as her gaze lowered to the ground for a moment.

"But you are," she said in a much happier tone as her eyes lit up at the thought of brushing Tenebrae.

"I don't need to have my fur brushed, I can straighten it out by myself in a second," he said as a ripple ran through his fur, leaving it perfectly in place.

"Corrine used to like it when I brushed his fur and his didn't really need brushing either…" Colette said quietly.

"Go on Tenebrae, let Colette brush your fur," Emil said, seeing that it would make the young woman happy.

"I suppose, if I must, but you're to stop as soon as dinner's ready," Tenebrae muttered to Colette as he nodded at Emil and Marta who'd finished their tickle battle and had started to prepare food.

"OK," Colette beamed happily and patted her lap, indicating that Tenebrae should lie across it.

The Centurion shook his head but did as he was instructed and, as Colette began to run the brush over his fur, found himself thinking that maybe this wouldn't be quite so bad after all, the feeling of the brush on his fur was actually rather pleasant.

A short while later he opened his eyes, vaguely realising that he didn't remember closing them, to look over at Emil and Marta to see what they were laughing at.

"What's funny?" he asked when he failed to spot the source of their amusement.

"You were purring," Marta managed to say between her giggles.

"No I was not, tell them Colette," he replied.

"Actually you were a little, it was cute," Colette smiled softly at him.

"I am the Centurion of Darkness, I am not cute!" Tenebrae huffed.

"You are when you purr like a kitty-cat, although you'll never be as cute as Emil," Marta said.

Emil gave a "hey" of protest as a bright blush appeared on his cheeks and, as he and Marta got into an argument about whether or not he was cute, Tenebrae shook his head and wondered why fate had stuck him with those two.

"It's OK Tenebie, it's nice to know you enjoyed being brushed," Colette smiled and patted him on the head like a dog.

The Centurion shook his head again and decided that, without a doubt, fate really must hate him.