Woohoo, another oneshot of mine. ^^

I've quickly translated this because I thought I had to publish something on Christmas. ^^ And this was the only one that had something to do with Christmas ...

Well, anyway. Because I'm German there might be some mistakes (tenses especially seem to hate me ...) and additionally that's why the gifts are made on Christmas Eve in this story. I know that in some parts of the world the gifts are made on other dates but I didn't want to change it now ... It isn't that important anyway. xD

So, yeah, this story is about Kraine ... So if you don't like this pairing you shouldn't read it.

So ... I wish you a merry Christmas and I hope that you'll enjoy the story. =)

Disclaimer: I don't own Tales of Symphonia and I don't earn any money with this story, only a few reviews, at least that's what I'm hoping for. xD

Snowflakes

Constantly the snowflakes descended from the sky upon the hibernal city which had never seen anything else than snow. The icy wind blew through the streets and caused most people to stay in their houses, the more so as it was Christmas Eve.

A woman who was shrouded in a thick coat came out of the warm inn and walked to the little balcony near the church. From there you had a beautiful view upon the snowy city. But the woman hadn't left the inn because of the view but to think about something.

She brushed a strand of her white-silver hair out of her face and after that folded her arms to warm herself. With her sky blue eyes she watched a snowflake falling slowly to the ground.

Snowflakes. An interesting topic Raine Sage thought. How come that no snowflake resembled another one? Raine would've gladly examined every single snowflake to see if there couldn't be found some that were identical. But that wasn't the reason Raine had come to Flanoir. She wanted to celebrate Christmas Eve with her brother and her friends. But when the presents had been given out Raine had had the need to go outside. She had the hope to be able to clear her thoughts in the fresh, cold air.

The more Christmas had approached the more confused she had become, the more this unbearable emptiness had grown inside of her. An emptiness in her heart, a hole that couldn't be closed by anything. And the pain, the mental pain that it caused just didn't disappear no matter how often Raine cried. Raine had never felt such pain before.

It seemed to be the worst when she saw how fortunate the others were. When she saw how happy Lloyd and Colette looked as they were walking arm in arm through the streets, how Zelos desperately tried to get Sheena's attention and how Genis began to stutter and blushed when Presea was near. Regal seemed to be happy as well when he remembered the nice moments with Alicia.

Raine, however, was alone. Left alone by the only one who could've filled the hole in her heart. Raine made a few steps whereupon the snow crunched beneath her shoes and leaned against the balustrade. She had been in exactly the same position back then when they had come to Flanoir to seek the doctor out who was supposed to heal Altessa and thus had to stay the night in the city of eternal winter. Raine closed her eyes and a memory came up.

:::

Raine was standing outside on the balcony and watched the falling of the snowflakes while she leaned against the balustrade. Although it was so quiet she didn't notice somebody approaching.

"If you continue standing like this you will freeze to the balustrade."

Raine turned around startled and saw a tall man with auburn hair. On his left side there was a sword on which he always had a hand laying. That he didn't seem to be cold was a mystery to Raine. But maybe he just knew how to hide it.

"Kratos!" Raine exclaimed surprised. "What are you doing here?" The sound of her voice was a little bit colder and sharper as she had intended.

Kratos folded his arms and answered with a calm voice: "Look after you so that nothing happens to you."

"What should happen to me? I can take care of myself!" She wanted to pass him by but she slipped. She waited for the clash which never came because two strong arms caught her.

"Really?" Kratos asked while hiding a small smile behind the hair which concealed the left side of his face.

Raine blushed and made a few steps backwards. "O … Of course! Just because I slipped once …"

"I hope you don't adopt too much of Colette … I doubt that you can defeat Mithos if you mutate into the second Colette."

By now, Raine's face was so hot that you could've fried eggs sunny side up on it. "You don't have to care! You're our enemy!" she exclaimed while trying to get a normal face color again.

"What if I told you that I do care?" Kratos asked.

"If that's the case then why don't you fight with us?" This moment Raine felt that she would've gladly fought at Kratos' side again. He exuded this incredible calm which soothed you. Raine looked at him almost pleadingly.

Kratos seemed to think it over for a while but then he shook his head. "I can't."

"Then I will continue seeing you as an enemy," Raine answered cold-heartedly.

"Hmpf. In your life there is only black and white, right? Ever heard of grey? Not everything can be divided in black and white, good and evil, Raine."

"But because I prepare for the worst I prevent being hurt," Raine explained.

"You think that works? You won't be able to always prevent being hurt."

"Well, imagine, I realized that in the Tower of Salvation as well!" Raine exclaimed in a bitter voice.

Kratos' betrayal in the Tower of Salvation had been surprising for her as well. She had always known that something about him was strange but she would've never thought that he would betray them someday. She had trusted him too much.

"Raine …"

Her eyes widened when she suddenly felt his lips on hers. When did he get so close? Raine was paralyzed. She hadn't been prepared for something like this.

Finally Kratos looked Raine in the eyes and said: "Trust me. One more time. Please!"

Before Raine could give an answer he had disappeared.

:::

Back then Raine had been confused as well. She had often thought about this meeting. Why had he kissed her? This question slowly drove her insane. She had had a few opportunitis to ask him this but every time no word had come out of her mouth. And then he had gone to Derris-Kharlan without bidding farewell and thus leaving her alone with all her questions and a pile of emotions.

Raine had realized how happy she was when Kratos was near her, how relaxed and safe she felt. She needed him, she couldn't live without him anymore. She loved him. But now he was gone and even if Raine ever had the courage to confess her feelings to him she would never be able to do it because he would never come back.

The probability that Derris-Kharlan would once again be so close to the world that the teleports on the planet worked again was equal to zero. At least it wouldn't happen the next few thousand years. That was what Raine's mind was saying. But her heart just wanted to hope for a miracle. What if she did see Kratos again someday? Maybe you couldn't always be logical but had to hope for a miracle once in a while as well. But of what use would hoping be for her? In the end it just meant more pain when her hope died.

Raine sighed. She was as confused as before. The only thing she should focus on was the present. There was no time right now for confusing memories from the past and foolish dreams.

"Raine! There you are!" a little boy with the same white-silver hair as Raine exclaimed.

"Genis!"

"You will freeze to death if you're staying here! You've been already here for an hour …"

"That long?" Raine asked a little bit surprised.

How fast time passed when you were lost in thought.

"Come on, Raine, on Christmas Eve you shouldn't be outside in the cold and brood over something! Christmas is the feast of love after all!" Genis said while shoving her in the direction of the inn.

"The feast of love … Don't make me laugh …" Raine mumbled so quietly that Genis couldn't hear it.

The rest of the evening she watched Zelos and Lloyd drinking all of the punch and staggering through the house after that, how Colette tripped all the time and knocking over one vase after another which thereupon burst into thousands of pieces and how Sheena gave Zelos endless clouts because he tried to hug her in his drunkenness – although Raine was sure that he would've tried that as well if he weren't drunk.

Genis read his new book while Regal prepared the desserts and Presea carved with a little knife that Genis had given her a little wooden figure. Raine couldn't see what it was exactly though.

Slowly her eyelids fell down and she would've probably fallen asleep despite all the noises if somebody hadn't nudged her. Tiredly, Raine opened her eyes and saw the little pink haired girl standing in front of her.

"Presea? What is it?"

"Here. My gift for you," Presea said while giving her the small wooden figure.

It was a swan that had been carved pretty detailed. Presea really took to carving like a duck to water.

"But you've already given me a book," Raine said.

"Yes, but I've thought you might need this. Swans will be together forever when they've found their partners. That's why the swan is supposed to bring luck in love," Presea explained.

"But why do you think that …"

"You shouldn't give up hope. He will come back, Raine." With a smile Presea turned around and walked towards Genis who was helping Regal setting the table right now.

"Is it … that obvious?" Raine whispered a little bit confused.

:::

Kratos walked apathetically through Welgaia. He didn't have a clue how much time had passed since he had come to Derris-Kharlan but it seemed like an eternity to him. He had often asked himself why he had wanted to return to this planet of pure Mana where nobody was apart from a few lifeless angels. He had thought it was his duty as a member of Cruxis to dump all the Exspheres in space so that they couldn't get into the wrong hands. But on the other hand it was a remote likelihood that the angels would ever do something else than exist and no other person could get to the planet just as Kratos couldn't return to the world in which his son and his friends were living. And she … How Raine was right now?

He often wondered about that. He shouldn't have left like that without saying goodbye to her. But he knew that he couldn't have gone if he had seen her one last time. He would've stayed. And maybe that would've been for the best. He could've had a real life, he could've taken care of his son once in his life but once again he had been a coward and left. He always ran away from his responsibility.

If there were a way to return to the world he wouldn't hesitate to take it. But he could only return when he managed it to bring Derris-Kharlan that close to the reunited worlds that the teleports worked again. But then he would have to take care of the planet not colliding with the world because then he would extinguish all life. By all means a serious risk. Would he dare to put all life on the line just so that he could return? He didn't know it. But at the moment Derris-Kharlan was drifting away from the world anyway. And he had no clue how he could change directions.

He walked lethargically in the direction of Vinheim. Lately he often lingered in the library of Vinheim because there wasn't much to do anyway. He had dumped all the Exspheres some time ago and so he spend his time reading incredible boring books. Even Raine would've probably only taken a shine to their rarity and their good condition but never to their content.

Raine. Once again he had to think about her. How she always brushed the white-silver strands of hair out of her face; how her sky blue eyes quickly read a page in a book; how she never got tired examining a ruin which she had already analyzed to the slightest detail several times before; how her cooking attempts always resulted in a disaster and some cases of stomach upset and how strained she was when she got near water.

He already knew so much about her but still it seemed to him as if he knew nothing. What was her favorite food, her favorite book, her favorite season, her favorite festival? He would probably never find out …

Upon arriving at the library he grabbed a book and sat down on a chair. The book dealt with the composition of different flowers. He wondered why Mithos had kept such a book of all things. He hadn't really been into flowers as far as Kratos knew.

For a few minutes Kratos looked at the pages but it was too boring and so he threw the book against the wall opposite of him. A clicking could be heard and to his left a bookshelf swung to the side. A dark secret passage could be seen. It was totally unknown to Kratos although he thought that he knew Derris-Kharlan perfectly. But apparently he had been wrong.

But why had Mithos kept this hallway a secret? What was behind it?

Because Kratos' curiosity grew stronger with every second and he didn't have anything better to do anyway he grabbed a torch which he ignited with Fire Ball and entered the dark hallway. It hadn't been used that much because a thick bulk of dust was covering the ground and Kratos had to wipe spider webs out of his hair and face more than once.

After a while it got brighter and Kratos could extinguish his torch. He walked into a room with a large platform in the middle which was surrounded by some control panels. When Kratos came closer he saw that it had to be a teleport. But why had Mithos hidden it? Kratos watched one of the control panels more closely.

After a while he understood that it was no normal teleport. It tapped the Mana of Derris-Kharlan and turned it into teleport energy. Because Derris-Kharlan had a huge amount of Mana you could teleport yourself large distances with this teleport – probably to all known planets.

Kratos couldn't believe his luck. This was his return ticket to the true life. He just had to adjust the control panels correctly – no problem for him. He was finished in less than a half minute, walked on the platform and took a deep breath. There was no guarantee that he would survive this and he had no clue where he would land but it was worth the risk. He pushed a button and was wrapped in a bright light.

:::

"Hey! Wake up! You had enough time to sleep on Derris-Kharlan!"

Kratos opened dozily his eyes. Where was he? He just saw a blurry person in front of him.

"Yuan? Is that you?" he asked unsure.

"No, I'm the ice-cream-seller from Triet! Of course it's me!"

"Then … I landed in one of the Renegade Bases?"

"Would've been nice if it had been like that … But no, you had to land in the middle of Triet where you didn't startle only one person almost to death! But now explain to me how you managed to get back!" the blue haired half-elf demanded from his friend.

"I found a secret passage in the library of Vinheim which led to a huge teleport. It uses the Mana of Derris-Kharlan and can teleport you far distances because of this."

"I didn't know anything of such a teleport …"

"Neither did I. Mithos must have kept it a secret from us but don't ask me why," Kratos said.

"And what are your plans now?" Yuan wanted to know.

"Of course I'm going to visit my son."

"Yes, of course … But you won't find him in Iselia," the half-elf remarked.

Kratos frowned. "Where is he then?"

"I don't know if you noticed it but it's Christmas. And where do you think Lloyd and his friends will be right now?"

"In Flanoir … Alright, I'm on my way. See you later!"

"Ciao!"

:::

"Hey, Raine! This present was delivered this morning. It's for you," Sheena said when Raine left her room.

"Who sent it?" Raine asked confused.

"Dunno. Maybe a secret admirer?" Sheena suggested grinning.

"It's probably from one of her crazy fans …" Genis murmured.

Raine opened the present. It was a silver necklace with a snowflake as a pendant. On it there were little blue glittering stones. A note was with it as well.

"'Meet me on the frozen lake this evening'," Raine read out. (Yes, there's a lake now in Flanoir xD)

"It's like I said, it's a secret admirer! But this necklace is really beautiful … It will suit you very well!" Sheena said.

"You will fortunately get to know this evening who presented you with such a expensive present," Genis remarked.

"I won't go," Raine replied.

"Why not, professor?" Colette asked.

"I … That's … just stupid!" Raine exclaimed before returning to her room.

"I'd like to understand women …" Zelos mumbled and Regal nodded in agreement.

"Who delivered this present anyway?" Lloyd asked.

Sheena looked at Presea. "You accepted the present, right?"

The pink haired girl nodded. "I know from whom the present is."

Everybody looked at her expectantly.

"I promised to not tell anything. It's supposed to be a surprise."

Genis sighed. "But if Raine doesn't go there won't be a surprise …"

Presea nodded. "That's why I'm going to persuade her now." She knocked on Raine's door and after a while Raine opened it.

"Don't try to persuade me into going."

"I know from whom the present is," Presea said.

"What?" Raine asked surprised.

"I just can tell you that you will regret it if you don't go. Believe me," Presea remarked before going away.

Raine thought about it. Could it be that …? But she dismissed the thought immediately. She sighed. She could at least see who gave her the necklace and thank the person.

:::

In the evening she walked to the lake. She put on her skates and ice-skated on the firm frozen surface but she saw nobody. She sighed and ice-skated a while on the lake. It began to snow and Raine suddenly felt free. She ice-skated backwards and closed her eyes. Suddenly she bumped into somebody. She turned around to apologize but she couldn't say a word when she recognized the person.

"Hello Raine," Kratos said.

Raine wasn't able to say anything, she just produced a croaking. Tears ran down her face and she hugged Kratos. When she found her voice again she murmured: "I thought I would never see you again …"

"So did I."

"But how …?"

Kratos put a hand on her lips and said: "Later." Then he kissed her.

Raine sobbed quietly. "Thank you for the necklace … It's beautiful …"

"I hoped you would like it."

:::

"I would really like to know who presented Raine with the necklace …" Genis said.

"Yeah, me too! Hey, why don't we go to the lake and find it out?" Lloyd suggested. He already ran outside to the lake.

"Hey, wait, Lloyd!" Genis called before following him.

Presea sighed. "Then we can all go …"

So the others walked to the lake as well.

When they were standing on the highest point of a little hill they could see on the lake. It slowly got dark but still you could see clearly the person who held Raine in their arms.

"DAD!" Lloyd exclaimed excited. But as he ran to the lake he tripped and rolled down the little slope. That why he became a little, living snow dome.

"Ouch …" he mumbled when he reached the bottom. "Dad!"

"Hello Lloyd," Kratos greeted his son while helping him up.

"Dad, what are you doing here? How did you get here? And why did you want to see Professor Sage first?" Lloyd asked without making a break.

"Don't forget to breathe, Lloyd …" Genis said.

Kratos sighed and explained how he had been able to leave Derris-Kharlan and that he had heard from Yuan that they were here.

"But still I don't understand why you wanted to see Professor Sage first …" Lloyd mumbled.

"Geez, Lloyd! You're really slow on the uptake, aren't you?" Sheena sighed.

Lloyd looked at her questioningly but she just pointed at Kratos who had put an arm around Raine.

"You … You don't mean …" Lloyd stammered.

Lloyd looked at Genis. Then both of them started grinning.

"Cool!" Lloyd exclaimed. "Genis, you'll become my uncle!"

"Yeah!" Genis said excited. "I'll get a nephew that's older than me!"

Kratos smiled. "We're not at this point yet."

"Ahh, everybody says that! And in no time there's a child on its way and a marriage takes place!" Zelos remarked. "So you should be careful when you …"

"ZELOS!" Sheena yelled before giving him a great clout. "There are children present!"

"Let's go inside again, it's cold …" Colette said.

:::

In the evening of the next day it still snowed. Raine was again at her favorite place, the little balcony. It was the most beautiful and most quiet place in Flanoir. She caught some snowflakes with her palm and watched them melting away. These snowflakes might melt and cease like a memory you forgot but now Raine had her own snowflake that would never melt. She enclosed the little pendant with her hand and closed her eyes.

"If you're staying here any longer people will think you're an ice sculpture," a voice said.

Raine smiled. "They can think what they want."

"Alright, then you'll stay here and slowly freeze to the spot while we drink the delicious Christmas punch and play games," Kratos said amused.

"Hmm …" Raine pulled Kratos closer to her. "I won't be the only one who freezes to the spot …"

They kissed while the snowflakes continued with their dance to the ground.

Yay, happy ending! (Well, of course xD It's me we're talking about after all, I couldn't live without a happy ending ^^)

Well, let me see ... I've written this story three years ago xD So I'm not surprised if some parts aren't that good ... Although I think this story is pretty good, the discriptions are especially good in comparison to what I usually write I think ...

It's unusual that Presea plays such a big role as well, usually she's a more passive character in my stories ... But not this time as you can see. ^^

So I think this is one of my best Kraine oneshots (ok, I don't have written thaaaat many, maybe six or so ^^) and I hope you liked it as well. If you did I would be glad about a review. =)

See/read you soon! ^^