Title: Simplicity
Fandom: Tales of Symphonia
Theme: #1 - hazel eyes
Pairing: Presea/Lloyd
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of Symphonia.
Summary: Squinting at the small picture painted with delicate care, Lloyd saw a young woman who he first took to be Presea, but looking at her eyes, he realized that this...was her mother. Post-Game Spoilers.

Simplicity

"Umm...Lloyd?" Presea stood in the doorway looking uncertain. When the two had first arrived at Dirk's house after a long period of traveling around the region destroying expheres, Lloyd had ran ahead, hollering something about wanting to clean his room up before she saw it. Lloyd had such simplicity to him... Presea had tried to walk as slowly as possible to give him time, but now she was finally at the threshold of the Irving family house, and had no idea where to prop her ax.

A crash was heard and Lloyd appeared, tripping in his hurry to get down the staircase. "Yes, Presea?" he asked, grinning and pushing back his hair from his vision. A moment later a short bearded man (no, he must be a dwarf), followed Lloyd, calling to the boy to take off his shoes while he was in the house. Lloyd seemed not to have heard him.

Presea was momentarily taken aback. Should she take off her boots as well? But if she did, she would need both her hands, which would mean setting down her ax. Was this permissible?

"I...did not know where to set down my ax," she explained, still wavering in the doorway. Lloyd looked around, scratching the back of his head.

"Oh, anywhere is fine. You'll be living with us for a while, so this'll be your house too!" He was always grinning, wasn't he? Presea gave him a cautious smile. Lloyd beamed.

"Oh, honestly," Dirk grumbled. "I'll take your ax, Presea. We can store it upstairs with Lloyd's swords. Meanwhile, have a seat over there. I assume you'll want to rest your feet after all that walking."

Presea reluctantly handed her ax over to Lloyd's adoptive father. While Dirk climbed the stairs to the second floor, the pink haired ax-girl wandered over to a chair and sat down, pulling one of her boots off.

"It was a lot of walking, wasn't it?" Lloyd asked, slouching into the seat next to Presea. "But all the rheairds were being used, and even Noishe has his limits." Presea nodded absently, concentrated on pulling off her second boot.

"Should I remove my gloves as well?" she asked. Lloyd shrugged. Presea decided that as she had already taken off her boots, she might as well take off her gloves. Just for now. She could rest here without fear. Not like before.

Afternoon drifted on to evening, and soon the three odd members of the patchwork household had finished their final meal for the day. The time had finally arrived to discuss where Presea would sleep.

"She's sleeping upstairs with us, of course," Lloyd declared, as if it was already settled. Dirk sighed.

"We've never had anyone else living with us before. Whenever Lloyd had Genis and Colette over for the night, the three would sleep outside under the stars, or else all pile into Lloyd's bed, but somehow I don't think that will work for a long-term guest. We could probably set out a cot downstairs for tonight and figure out better accommodations tomorrow..." he trailed off. Lloyd looked confused.

"But why can't she sleep upstairs for tonight?" he asked, a note of approach starting in his tone.

"Presea may want her privacy, Lloyd." Dirk explained. "Presea...would you prefer to sleep downstairs or upstairs?" Presea caught the look of pleading Lloyd was sending at her behind Dirk's back.

"Sleeping upstairs for one night would not present a problem," she said at last. Lloyd jumped for joy. Dirk rolled his eyes.

"It'll be pretty noisy tonight..." he muttered, remembering the numerous occasions when Genis and Colette had stayed over. As it turned out, however, Lloyd wasn't too chatty and Presea was well-mannered enough not to press conversation and keep Dirk awake. An hour or so later, when she was sure both of the Irvings had fallen asleep, Presea slipped out of bed and tiptoed downstairs, softly pushing the door open and walking outside.

It was peaceful by the river, though her sight wasn't optimal in the moonlight, and Presea quickly found a spot to sit. Slowly, she opened the small sachet on her belt and removed a small piece of wood with a painting on one side. The young ax-girl settled down, looking at the painting in silence.

"Huh? Where's Presea gone?" Lloyd mumbled sitting up and rubbing sleep out of his eyes. He had woken up hungry, and was just thinking of going downstairs for a midnight snack when he noticed that Presea's cot was empty. Slightly worried, Lloyd wrapped a blanket around himself and went downstairs to investigate. Looking out the window as he reached the first floor, the young swordsman could just see a short figure by the water. He walked over to the door and gently pulled it open, walking across the dirt to where the figure sat. It was Presea, without a doubt.

Lloyd crouched beside her. "Hey...whatcha doing out here at a time like this?" he asked, concerned. "Are you feeling okay?"

Presea did not reply, only held up her wood for him to see. Squinting at the small picture painted with delicate care, Lloyd saw a young woman who he first took to be Presea, but looking at her eyes, he realized that this...was her mother.

"Hazel eyes," Presea said very quietly. "Daddy always said I could have been Mommy's double except that I had his eyes. Mommy had the hazel ones. She's dead now..."

"My Mom is dead too," said Lloyd softly as he handed the picture back. Presea looked surprised. How could she have forgotten that? "But I know that she's always with me. With or without my exphere."

"Always...with you?" Presea looked down at the picture she held in her hands, feeling very lonely. "Do you think my Mommy is always with me, too?"

Lloyd looked surprised, then gave her a gentle smile. "Always," he promised. "They're probably sitting together up in the sky looking down at us and thinking how silly we are for being lonely."

"You are lonely as well?" Presea asked, looking up.

"Sometimes..." Lloyd replied slowly. "Ever since Da...Kratos. My other dad. Ever since he went to Derris Kharlan I've kinda been missing him. But I still have Dirk and all of my wonderful friends. And you, Presea. So, I guess it's not so bad."

"Sometimes I feel as though I am alone," Presea whispered. Lloyd's eyes widened.

"But...you have lots of friends too, Presea! You've got Colette and Genis and Raine and Regal and Sheena and Zelos, even if he is an idiot sometimes. And you've got me," Lloyd rushed to protest. Presea looked so lost sitting there that the brunette swordsman impulsively wrapped his arms around her. Presea let out a tiny, shuddering sob.

"It's okay, I'm right here," Lloyd said in a soothing voice, rocking her back and forth. The two stayed like that, with Lloyd's arms around Presea for a long time.

"Rise and shine, Presea!" Lloyd called out with his usual enthusiasm. Presea blinked, looking around, trying to remember how she had gotten back to her cot.

"You fell asleep and I didn't want to wake you, so I carried you inside," Lloyd explained in a conspiratorial whisper so Dirk wouldn't hear. The dwarf in question was downstairs cooking breakfast.

"Thank you, Lloyd," Presea said earnestly, and Lloyd smiled.

"C'mon, let's go get something to eat!" Lloyd exclaimed, and Presea smiled, following him down the stairs to where she could smell fresh bacon.

Yes, Lloyd was simple. But Presea was beginning to think he was all she needed.

Fin.