Title: Pride
Fandom: Tales of Symphonia
Pairing/Characters: Lloyd, Regal
Warning(s): Spoilers for...stuff.
Genre: Gen
Part I of the Regal and Lloyd Do Manly Things Together Saga
But the journey was long and hard, and Lloyd became a light sleeper. Kratos- Kratos- had taught him that. Professor and Genis needed their sleep, and he thought Colette did too back then, so it was up to him to look out for whatever midnight decided to throw at their little party. And if it meant waking up every time a bird landed on a branch near the fire pit, he was ready.
He was startled awake one night, the moon swollen and the stars brilliant, when a twig snapped. He wasn't even aware of himself until he was standing with swords drawn, ready to attack a shadow in the woods.
"Lloyd," said a voice, smooth but bewildered. Regal stepped into the moonlight.
"Oh- Regal. Sorry." Lloyd sheathed his swords. "I- you know, gotta be on guard."
"My apologies. I was- restless, and thought- I would train myself. I would not want to hold you back in a moment of weakness."
Regal was kind of weird. He was a prisoner, but he talked like a king.
"You're kind of weird, Regal," Lloyd said.
"I should have known better than to attempt to fool you, Lloyd. Now that I have woken you, would you like to join me?"
x x x
Regal's prison shirt was pretty neat- the laces came undone so that the whole thing could be kicked off without the shackles getting in the way. Lloyd's shirt joined Regal's and a careful application of his scarves bound his wrists quite well.
"I- can't- imagine- living- like- this," Lloyd said, in between sit-ups. Not being able to move his hands, even when he didn't need to, made him feel a little cramped. Speaking of cramps, though, his stomach was killing him.
"Eating was a little difficult at first, but the human body is surprisingly versatile." He sat up fully and draped his hands over his knees. "Do you know how to do a squat properly?"
Lloyd groaned.
x x x
But Regal was kind and cheery, let him take breaks when he needed them, never made him feel bad for needing them like Kratos did.
"You look perturbed," Regal said one night in the middle of another training session. They had camped by the ocean; the two of them were sitting chin-deep in the water, watching the moon. "Would you like to talk about it?"
"I dreamt about Kratos again," Lloyd said, after a while. "His back. I keep seeing his back, because I'll never be as good as him."
"There are many definitions of 'good', though," Regal retorted, leaning back and letting his hair into the water. "Excuse me, for I do not know him well, but I believe he would be proud of you."
"Proud?"
"Proud," Regal said. "There is- something about you, Lloyd. You may understand it when you are as old as I am. It is easy to be proud of you."
"Huh," Lloyd said.
Far away, in the vast emptiness contained within Derris-Kharlan, Kratos' heart suddenly ached.