"Lloyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyd!" Zelos shrieked as he burst through my doorway. I heaved an overdramatic sigh in his direction and looked up from the book I was reading. Leave it up to Zelos to interupt me during the first time in my life I had picked up a book of my own free will.

"What do you want?"

"I need to be hidden..." He closed the door carefully behind him, then began looking for - I assumed - a place to hide.

"And WHY do you need to hide?" A split second later I rethought the question and asked a new one. "Who are you hiding from?"

"Well, Kratos was picking on Genis, so I told him to pick on somebody his own size... and so now he's hunting me down so I need you to hide me!" The last few words were squeaky and high, and the puppy dog face he gave me was irresistable and at the same time frustrating, so I gave him a smile and an eye roll.

"Fine, but you're finding your own hiding place." I lifted my book back to my face, blocking the redhead entirely from view. It's not that I didn't want to look at him, but moreso that I knew if I did, he would give me that same old puppy expression that he very well knew I couldn't resist. Damn that face of his.

"Lloyd..." I closed my eyes, feeling a headache coming on. Placing my index and middle fingers to my temple, I lowered the book yet again.

"What, Zelos..."

"There's nowhere to hide in here..." As I brought the book down enough to see his face, I noticed how watery his crystal blue eyes had become and suddenly it occured to me that I would not be getting any reading done. Calmly I placed a feather (one I had collected earlier that day) between the pages and lazily got to my feet. Looking around the small inn room, I realized that he was quite right - other than under one of the beds, there really was nowhere to hide. I found the game a little immature; however, I wouldn't deny that I enjoyed acting like a kid frequently.

"You could always hide underneath one of the beds," I suggested lightly, biting the inside of my lip. I could almost hear his response in my head: Are you kidding?! What about my hair?!...

"Are you kidding, Lloyd?! What if my hair were to get messed up in the process?"

"Heh..." I let out a chuckle and he glared at me.

"What are you laughing at?"

"Nothing," I lied through my teeth but I was positive he wouldn't care in the end. "I do have one other idea, but..." Before I could get my warning out, the telltale sound of Kratos' heavy boots in the hallway gave me no more time to explain.

"Lloyd, he's coming..." Zelos whimpered softly next to my ear. I shivered but managed to shake off the feeling, pushing him towards the bed.

"Get under the covers." I instructed boldly, though my tone could not mask the huge grin spread across my face. Hoping he would listen without question, I pulled my shirt off. It was a long shot to hope for Zelos not to ask questions.

"What? Why? Why are you getting undressed?" He flailed his arms briefly before I grabbed both wrists and looked him straight in the eyes.

"Here are your options: get into that bed, or pummelled by Kratos. Your choice." I released him and folded my arms over my bare chest, watching for his reaction. His eyes darted to the sound of the mercenary's footsteps growing closer and closer by the second, and then over to the bed. I guessed the decision was quick once he had considered his options and hopped into the bed, lying on his side. I climbed in after him and lay flat on my back.

"Alright," I inhaled deeply, preparing myself for the explanation that lay ahead of me. "This will be awkward, but it's the only way it won't be totally obvious that there's two of us..."

"Continue..."

"Okay, well..." I hadn't realized how shy I would be about this, and I felt a faint blush appear on my cheeks. I coughed to cover it with my hands. "You need to lie with you head at the foot of the bed, and I need to lie sort of on top of you with my head on the pillow. That was there won't be any inexplicable bulges."

"But..." Zelos had returned to whining, until Kratos' footsteps were practically outside my door. "Fine." We arranged ourselves in the described position just in time for Kratos to walk into the room without even a knock. I closed my eyes to feign sleep, but it was hard to focus on being convincing, when I could feel Zelos' hot breath on my toes. It didn't exactly tickle, but...

"You. That one. The one that is related to me," I felt my forehead being prodded by what felt like the end of a sheath, and opening my eyes confirmed my guess. My father stood over me, and his eyes would have been completely blank were it not for the glint of an accusatory stare.

"Yes...?" I pretended to be groggy. In all honesty I had no idea how realistic my performance was, or if it was fooling my dad at all, but as long as he didn't pull back the covers I was safe. I noticed him cast a glance at my bare shoulders and I suppose he didn't feel like venturing to see how much more of me was naked. He rolled his eyes at me and turned his back.

As if it could not have come at a more unopportune time, but Zelos let out a long sigh that coursed over my feet. Shocked at the sensation, I let out a squeak. Kratos turned sharply.

"What was that?" He demanded loudly. I attempted to cover the noise with a yawn.

"Just tired." He continued to eye me suspiciously for a few moments, just standing perfectly still. I assumed he wanted to note any changes in my behavior. And I would have been fine, had Zelos not heard my squeak. Anyone who knew Zelos knew that he liked to push people's buttons, and he had just found one of mine. I guess he wanted to test if I could maintain my cover, and maybe he figured that if he got us caught I'd get in more trouble for hiding him. I felt a wet warmth on the side of my right big toe and realized he was licking it. Discreetly, slowly, and in a definate pattern. He would use the width to go up, then the tip to go back down. It took every muscle in my body not to flinch under my father's critical stare, but I knew any second my face would go hot and it would turn the color of my discarded shirt. I just prayed Kratos would leave before that happened.

I did manage to hold my own for just long enough before I imagine the mercenary got bored and walked out of the room without so much as a goodbye. Not that I cared all that much. The second we were both sure he was gone for sure, Zelos threw up the covers and stared me right in the face, lifting fisted hands to his chin.

"Oh no, Lloyd, don't have a toe fetish!"

I rolled my eyes dramatically and resisted kicking him in the chest. He was in the perfect position too, but I was a nicer person than that. At least, I'd like to think so.

"I do not have a toe fetish," I protested in my defense, lifting my foot to his face. "See?"

"I think otherwise." The redhead stated in a singsong voice, and then, mocking my own voice, "See?" He bit down very gently on my second and third toes, sucking gently. My head fell back against the pillow, my eyes fluttering, and although I wasn't exactly paying attention I'm sure my cheeks were pink. He stopped sucking, gave my big toe one last lick and hopped to his feet.

"I win." He smirked at me and although I opened my mouth to retaliate, nothing came. He had won, and nothing was worse than when Zelos won.

I sat up - propped up by my elbows - on the bed, still shirtless, and watched as he came around and sat next to me. I eyed him carefully, wondering what he was up to this time, but all he did was place a gentle kiss on the tip of my nose and stand up.

"Thanks for saving me, Lloyd."

I took a deep breath in and reached for my book. "KRATOS."