Disclaimer: I own absolutely, positively nothing.
Authors' Note: Yet another one-shot that I wrote awhile ago, while it was cold and snowy outside, I was indulging in hot chocolate, and wanted some father-son fluff. It's also partially inspired by a scene in the OVA where Kratos hands Lloyd the mugs to do the coffee test with Colette. I saw a picture of that on YouTube and briefly thought that maybe there was an oyako scene in the OVA, yet then was reminded of what it was. Nonetheless, it stuck with me.
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Hot Cocoa
Lloyd Irving was a strange person in that while he loved the snow, he wasn't really too fond of cold temperatures.
It wasn't that he really minded the cold, per se. He could tolerate it, and sometimes he even enjoyed it, especially if he'd been training for a few hours, working up his body temperature as well as a sweat. The cold felt nice to him then, a comforting chill on hot skin that allowed him to take deep breaths of chilly air and let his muscles relax. But when he volunteered to take the night watch on the Journey of Regeneration, and he was sitting a few feet away from the fire because of it (far enough out so that he could see danger easily if it approached, close enough so that he could keep an eye on the camp and be within shouting distance if necessary), the cold wasn't too inviting, and Lloyd childishly wished that it would just go away as he wrapped his arms around his knees, shivering in the cold night air.
Wrapped up in thoughts about banning the cold from existing on nights that he had the night-watch duty, Lloyd didn't notice that he wasn't the only one of their group awake. It shouldn't have surprised him that Kratos Aurion was still up, for the mercenary rarely seemed to need sleep at night and was ordinarily the one who volunteered for night watch duty. In fact, it was only because Genis remarked about how Lloyd couldn't stay awake for the night watch that Lloyd insisted on taking it for the night, despite everyone's opinion that he wouldn't be able to handle it and would be downright unbearable the next morning.
In any event, Lloyd didn't notice that Kratos was awake until the mercenary was standing right beside him, and even then Lloyd jumped a little, looking up at the auburn haired man in surprise. Kratos sighed so softly it was inaudible, and remarked dryly,
"If you're going to be the night-watch, you should be more alert. If I was an enemy, you would be dead right now."
Familiar feelings of ashamed ire spread within Lloyd, and he looked away, not wanting Kratos to see his scowl and criticize it, as well.
"Yeah, well, I was just distracted for a moment, that's all," Lloyd grumbled, shivering again. "You don't have to worry about it, Kratos. I'll be fine."
Silence fell for a few moments before Kratos sat down next to Lloyd, causing the twin swordsman to inwardly grumble. He was about to snap that he didn't need Kratos to take over the night watch when suddenly a mug was thrust in front of his face, steam rising gently from it.
"Huh?"
"Here," Kratos grunted, staring into the distance instead of looking at Lloyd. "I noticed you were cold."
"Oh, uh . . ." Lloyd could only stare, dumbfounded, at the mug held before him for a few moments before he reached up to take it. Even through his gloves he could feel the warmth, and he couldn't deny that it was welcome. "Thanks."
"Mm." Lloyd glanced over to see that Kratos was holding a mug of his own in his hands, though the mercenary hadn't moved to take a drink of it yet. Lloyd looked down at his own cup, and he felt a slow smile spread over his features as he noticed what Kratos had handed him.
"Hey, you got me hot chocolate - and it has marshmallows, too!" To Lloyd's further surprise, Kratos had dropped just the right amount of marshmallows in so that there weren't too many, but there weren't too few, either. Lloyd took a sip, and as he felt the warmth swarm through him, he couldn't help but smile around his mug. "How'd you know I liked my hot chocolate like this?"
". . . A lucky guess, I suppose." Kratos took a sip at his own mug as Lloyd continued to indulge his hot chocolate, and after a few more beats of silence, Kratos spoke again, his voice so quiet that Lloyd had to strain to hear. "My wife used to enjoy her hot chocolate like that. I thought the same might hold true for . . . someone else."
"Your wife?" Lloyd's eyes went wide, his eyebrows skipping up to hide beneath his bangs. "You're married, Kratos?"
"I was, once." Kratos' mahogany eyes were focused intently on the drink he had in his hands, and Lloyd canted his head in confusion. It was so rare that he heard anything about the mercenary's life, so any tidbits he could glean from the stoic man were high points of interest.
"Once? What happened to her?"
"She died." Kratos' fingers tightened ever so slightly around his mug, but with the attention that Lloyd was giving Kratos, he noticed the action. He could also detect the pain of the statement, even as Kratos continued. "She was murdered, and our . . . child . . . went missing."
"Oh . . ." Lloyd looked down, back at his own hot chocolate. Guilt for asking about such a sensitive topic prickled at his insides like a nagging cactus, chastising him for prying into Kratos' personal affairs, especially after the man was nice enough to bring Lloyd hot chocolate. "I - I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked."
". . . It's all right. You had no way of knowing."
Silence fell between them again as Lloyd continued sipping from his mug, every now and then swallowing a marshmallow along with the hot chocolate liquid. It was no surprise, now, that Kratos was so guarded - so shut off from the rest of the world, so reluctant to even smile. Lloyd couldn't imagine Kratos married, and with a kid no less, but if they'd died . . . it was no wonder he didn't want to get attached to anyone else. Still, as he finished off his hot chocolate, a thought occurred to him.
"Hey, Kratos?" At the grunt he received in response, Lloyd continued. "You said your kid went missing, right? Does that mean he could still be alive somewhere?"
Kratos seemed to hesitate, and though he seemed tense, Lloyd ignored it. It was a touchy subject, no doubt, so there was no reason for him to not grow tense as the topic was broached once more. "I suppose, but it has been a great many years."
"Then we can find him." Lloyd's voice was full of certainty, and for the first time that night, Kratos looked over to lock Lloyd's gaze in his own. Instead of the ordinary stoic mask, Kratos' face held surprise, but Lloyd plowed on regardless. "I told you about how I wanna build a boat and travel the world once this journey's over, right? Well, you can come with me, and we can search for your kid together!" Lloyd grinned, determination showing plainly in his expression. "We won't stop until we find him, I swear!"
". . . It has been a great many years," Kratos repeated softly, looking away once more. "Do you think he would still want to speak to me, even though he would have someone else he would know as his father? After all these years, he wouldn't even remember me . . ."
"Why not? If it was me, I wouldn't care. That'd just mean I could have two dads." Lloyd looked up to the stars, smiling less enthusiastically, but still genuinely. "Yeah . . . I never knew my biological father, so I know I'd be lucky if I got to meet 'im. I'm sure your kid'll feel the same way, Kratos."
For a few minutes, Lloyd didn't receive a reply. Then, Kratos put a hand through his hair. "Heh. We'll see." He stood up, and Lloyd looked up in surprise. Kratos didn't look at him again, and didn't say anything else, save, "Good night, Lloyd."
"Heh . . . G'night, Kratos." Lloyd watched Kratos walk back toward the camp for a few moments before looking back up to the stars, wondering if he'd said something wrong. Shaking his head, Lloyd finished his hot chocolate; Kratos was as much of an enigma as ever, and though Lloyd had learned a little bit of Kratos' past, there was still only one thing that he knew for sure:
Wherever Kratos came from, and wherever he'd been, he made damn good hot chocolate.